Wednesday 19 November 2014

Pic Spam: Nerf Elite Rayven CS-18

I received an Elite Rayven from the US. It was already modified and did not include the Firefly clip (mag) or the GITD Elites, so I can't do a proper review. I then further modified it because I wanted to be able to use it. Nevertheless, I can still provide some nice pictures of the Elite Rayven, so here we go.
For reference here's the N-Strike Rayven's review. An out of box Elite Rayven should only be different in range and colour.

 


I personally find the handle very comfortable. It's decently sized, certainly larger than that of say a Firestrike.

The cardboard glued to the jam door is a mod, naturally. It helps prevent jamming as it prevents darts from popping out of the clip (mag).

The Rayven is a bullpup clip (mag) system blaster, meaning the clip (mag) loads behind the grip. It's so far the only clip (mag) system blaster to do this, though that's set to change next year.

The Rayven has a lever style central clip (mag) release, which is fairly comfortable to use.
The Rayven accepts barrel extensions. The white stripe on the Rayven doesn't match the stripe on Elite barrel extensions, but I think it still works ok.
The Rayven without a barrel extension lacks any proper front grip, so two-handing a barrelless Rayven usually requires curling your hand around the front of the blaster.
The Rayven has 4 sling points. 2 on the stock, and two on the front of the blaster, in front of the rail/carry handle.
The Rayven nameplate is pretty standard Elite style, except for the colour, which is due to the Rayven being a blaster with Firefly tech. A standard Elite Rayven comes with a lime green 18 dart Firefly clip (mag) that charges the GITD Elite darts it normally comes with. I got mine second hand so it didn't come with that stuff.
The Rayven's top rail doubles as a carry handle. It's not great to hold, but it at least blends in the motorcage. Note that the switch inside the carry handle is a mod.
The Rayven also has a side rail, which adds some nice orange contrast.

As a flywheel blaster, the Elite Rayven has to contain a pair of motors, which very rarely fit cleanly into a blaster shell. In the Elite Rayven's case, they bulge out slightly on the left side of the shell.

Here's some basic tacticool combos with the Elite Rayven.




 Here's the Elite Rayven with some of the other Elite clip (mag) system blasters.

With a simple trigger/dart pusher mod, the trigger pull becomes smoother than that of the Stryfe. Sadly the Rayven is inherently flawed as a bullpup blaster. Because the clip (mag) loads behind the grip, there's an internal faux barrel that cuts down significantly on muzzle velocity compared to the non-bullpup Stryfe.
I personally prefer using the Rayven because I find the Rayven more comfortable than a Stryfe with a stock, but the Stryfe is a perfectly reasonable alternative if Rayvens aren't available.

8 comments:

  1. dammit I wanted to get a glowing clip

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  2. I honestly don't get the point of a glow clip.But this blaster is so awesome for looks.

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    1. The Firefly clip charges glow in the dark darts so they glow as they fly through the air. It's pretty useless for actual Nerf war use, but it's kind of fun to watch.

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    2. It's kinda annoying, Bright green with Elite Blue. :P
      I think the original rayven looks better because the grey of the firefly was actually a grey on the gun as well.

      I pretty much never use that clip. I normally use my other 4 elite 18's, or my 1 stampede 18 clip.

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  3. What is this smoother trigger mod, did you ever write about it?

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    Replies
    1. I believe I just followed one of the Rayven mod guides on Nerfhaven.

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  4. I really love the AUG in most games, so for whoever likes the AUG also, here's a Rayven combo I made: Blue Elite barrel extension + Forward modulus grip + Red dot pinpoint sight + 15 dart Banana mag + Modulus suppressor!

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    Replies
    1. For an bonus FMAS combo: Add Blue Elite barrel extension + 12 Dart mag (Make sure it has the diagonal basey thing on the bottom)!

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