Elite Spectre REV-5

From this (presumably official) Nerf site: http://nerfpowerplay.sg/ (which is a Nerf Tournament site in SG)
I spotted this:

Nerf Elite Pinpoint Sight Review and Pic Spam

The N-Strike Pinpoint Sight was one of the most highly sought after accessories, due to the extreme tacticool of it being a red dot sight. The Elite Pinpoint Sight then came out, but so far has only been available in New Zealand and Singapore (and a few other countries, but notably NZ and SG). Thanks to Raiden at Nerf Canterbury on Facebook, I was able to get myself an EPPS.
Not a whole lot to say, so enjoy the pics and the short text.

Tek Recon Kickstarter/Pre Production Things

EDIT: This post is being used for archival purposes for everything before Tek Recon's official retail launch.

A lot of you will already have heard of Tek Recon, but some of you might not have. Basically they are super awesome looking and functional rubber band blasters. Like those ones you used in primary school (possibly secondary school and even Uni), except far cooler looking and far more functional.

EDIT 4/6/13: Tek Recon is fully funded!

Pictures of their first two blasters, the Hammerhead (pistol) and the Havok (rifle).

Slydev 4cm Nerf Rail, Nerf Rail Blank, Rail to Rail Connector Review

Yet another Slydev review, this time on some more general Tac Rail related pieces.

Modded Nerf Elite Alpha Trooper Range Test

I wasn't content with the EAT's meager 12m range, so I chucked in a BT V2 Retaliator/Rampage spring (http://black-tactical.com/store/weapon-accessories-foam-gun-parts-c-69_30/spring-for-nerf-elite-retailator-and-rampage-v2-p-4469) and took it for a test run.
Needless to say I was very happy.

Nerf Elite Alpha Trooper CS-12 Review (20m grey trigger Aus)

The N-Strike Alpha Trooper CS-18 was an extremely popular blaster, combining the compact design of the Recon with the slam fire of a Raider. It won over many hearts, notably Urban Taggers and myself. Naturally then, you can imagine the reaction when pictures of the Elite Alpha Trooper surfaced. Even among the Rapidstrike and Mega Centurion rumours, the EAT has maintained some hype. Does it live up to its high expectations?
For reference, since the EAT has so many similarities to the Retaliator and Alpha Trooper, I've linked their reviews.

Zecong Toys Photon Storm Review

IMPORTANT NOTE: The black foregrip seen on the Photon Storm IS NOT INCLUDED and IS NOT PART OF THE PHOTON STORM. It is a custom foregrip glued onto the Photon Storm.
Second NOTE: Any reference of "China-brand" is not a racial slur, rather a reference to the company's relative obscurity in Western countries, as well as its Chinese printed box art, bad English box art, and presumed location of the company in China.

The Photon Storm is a unique blaster from Zecong Toys (a China-brand). Unlike most other blasters, it is modeled seemingly after an M4 (or maybe an M16 or something, I don't know). It first started making waves in the NIC when SG Nerf got his hands on one, and from there has become highly sought after among those looking for awesome looking blasters. It is a semi auto flywheeler, and an incredibly simple one at that.

Nerf Elite Firestrike Review (grey trigger, 15m and 20m Aus) (EDITED 3/7/14)

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Firestrike you see in the pictures has been modified. The dart peg has been sliced off, which allows the use of Streamlines. This mod is not evident in the pictures besides the ones which look directly down the barrel.

The Elite Firestrike is the Elite-ified version of the classic N-Strike Nitefinder EX-3, incredibly popular due to price, power and accuracy, and mod capability. As the Nitefinder's natural successor, the Firestrike has had high expectations put on it. So does the Firestrike live up to expectations?

EDIT (3/7/14): I picked up a pair of non-freak Firestrikes, and so their performance will replace the freak Firestrike's performance.

Loadouts 7: Offence - Moar Rushing (2)

With all sorts of new blasters out now, the old loadouts needed some updating. I've started with rushing because I just got the Stryfe, an ideal blaster for rushing.
Scenario Description: Combat with high concentration of enemies. Player is playing offensively with intent to tag as many as possible, or tag specific player(s). May or may not have backup teammates, depending on situation, severity and importance. Generally will not involve game factors other than players. Player intends to run in and tag as many enemies as possible and may sacrifice themself.
Keys to Victory: Rate of fire is key. Range and accuracy not as important because the player will be close enough to opponents to ensure tags. Fearlessness is helpful, especially with the loadouts that involving running. Fitness is important as you will be running a lot as an offensive player.
Unnecessary Burdens: Sidearms. Normally an attack will end one of two ways: total victory (all or majority of enemies tagged, few or no allies tagged) or failure (few or no enemies tagged, all or most allies tagged). As a result, you will either be alive to reload your primary(ies), running away or returning to base to respawn, and thus have time to reload.

Clip (Mag) System 3
Primary: Elite Stryfe / Elite/N-Strike Rayven x 2 (dual wield, 18 dart clips [mags])
Secondary: Small single shot (e.g. Jolt, Elite Firestrike)
Gear: Anything that holds clips (mags), small dart/disc pouch
Ammo: 18 dart clips (mags), suitable ammo for secondary
Purpose: To make maximum use of the semi auto blasters provided by Nerf, by dual wielding
Strengths: ROF will be insane (combined ROF of two fast firing blasters), reloading clips (mags), ranges are decent
Weaknesses: Extremely vulnerable if both primaries are out of ammo, inaccurate, ranges drop from rapid fire, revving up to fire

Description: The Stryfe and Rayven are both semi auto flywheel clip (mag) system blasters. As such both have potential for high rates of fire, and are small and light allowing for running without heavy burden. Both characteristics are ideal for rushing. Although dual wielding blasters will reduce their accuracy, I feel that the added capacity, ROF and dart output is well worth it, especially for rushing where range and accuracy are not essential.

Multishot 1
Primary: Elite RoughCut 2x4
Secondary: Elite Stryfe / Elite/N-Strike Rayven (12/18 dart clips [mags])
Gear: Anything that holds clips (mags), dart pouch
Ammo: 12/18 dart clips (mags), darts for primary
Purpose: To make maximum use of the multishot capabilities of the RoughCut
Strengths: Dart output of RoughCut (slam-fire + multishot), secondary allows for more prolonged rapid fire, reloading (secondary)
Weaknesses: RoughCut only effectively has 4 shots, reloading (primary), accuracy (primary)
Description: The RoughCut is one of few blasters capable of firing more than one dart at a time, firing 2 at once from 8 barrels. Couple this double shot ability with the slam-fire from its pump action handle, and you have a blaster that can effectively output 8 darts in about a second. As noted by RoughCut users, the darts tend to swerve quite a lot when fired, meaning accuracy will be terrible. For a rusher though, the ability to fire out 2 darts at once and fire all 4 sets in about a second is very useful, meaning that you could easily take out 3 or 4 opponents with the RoughCut with the right timing and application of slam-fire. The RoughCut only effectively has 4 shots, so a backup blaster is needed. As a rusher, you are best off with fast firing and small clip (mag) system blasters, namely the Stryfe or Rayven. Between the RoughCut's multishot and a Stryfe/Rayven's clip (mag) system rapid fire you'll be able to take out 5 opponents or more within 30 seconds.

Vortex 1
Primary: Vortex Pyragon (40/20 disc drum/mag)
Secondary: Nothing/Small single shot (e.g. Elite Triad, Vortex Proton)
Gear: Vortex Ammo Belt or similar ammo holding device
Ammo: 10/20 disc mags, spare ammo for secondary
Purpose: To make maximise on the ridiculous slam-fire ability of the Pyragon
Strengths: Disc output during slam-fire, range, accuracy, reloading
Weaknesses: Vulnerability when mags are empty
Description: The Pyragon is so far the only Vortex blaster to slam-fire, and it pulls off slam-fire very well,
allowing a ROF of nearly 7dps when properly applied. This allows for a veritable storm of discs which even for extremely skilled persons would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to dodge. For longer ranged shots the Pyragon can be single fired for more effective suppression/potshot fire. In the even the Pyragon runs out of ammo, you could carry a secondary, but as a rusher it is much more likely you'll be tagged before running out of ammo if you are well supplied.

Nerf War 11/4/13 Vids

War vids from the 11th of April. The 3rd part will be uploaded soon.

First rounds: Team Deathmatch

Second rounds: Bombing Run

Third rounds: "Assault" (borrowed from BasicNerf)