Quick Review: Lightake/NFstrike AccuMegas

At this month's HvZ, we had a pool of new Lightake/NFstrike Accufake Megas to try out. I borrowed some for a quick review.

Review: Nerf Mega Hotshock

The Hotshock is one of the smallest and simplest additions to the Mega line, being of the classic pull-back single shot format that sees an incarnation in almost every Nerf line. As someone not very interested in the Mega line or single shot blasters, I gave it a pass until MHvZ introduced Mega zombies. As they are a rare, special unit, I only needed a basic Mega blaster to combat them, so I picked up a Hotshock from BigW.

Comparison: Nerf Mega Magnus vs Buzz Bee Air Max 3/Boss

The Magnus was Nerf's first Mega blaster after the horrible mess that was the Failturion, and was actually a decent and usable blaster. Some time later and Buzz Bee reveals their line of Mega-firing Air Max blasters, one of which is eeriely to the Magnus, the Air Max 3/Boss. How does the new kid compare?

Review: Nerf Mega Bigshock (grey trigger)

Every Nerf series needs a Jolt variant or repaint. The Elite and ZS lines got basically straight repaints, while the Rebelle line got a bunch of reshells. Now the Mega line has its Jolt in the form of the Bigshock.

Quick Mod: Nerf Mega Bigshock

One of my new acquisitions from Canada, the Bigshock is already a favourite of some modders for its ease of modding, power and low price (10CAD). I embarked on a short quest to make the Bigshock more powerful and also able to use both Mega darts or regular darts like Kooshes.

2014 Nerf Sum Up

 Apologies how late this post is, but a holiday will do that if you're unprepared.
As usual, Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to all of you.Another year, another bunch of Nerf releases, some cool and some less cool. Let's get straight into it.

Review: Nerf Mega Magnus (22m grey trigger)

Today's review, the Nerf (N-Strike Elite) Mega Magnus.

The Magnus is just the second blaster in the Mega line, yet the Mega line has already had a heap of press. Originally with claimed 100ft ranges and the longest blaster ever, the Centurion, the Mega line had a lot of people excited, only to shatter most people's dreams when people actually got a hold of the Centurion. Flimsy and squishy darts, hopeless accuracy, constant jamming and dart shredding, and with no consistency whatsoever, the Centurion was possibly the biggest modern Nerf failure ever. The Magnus has a lot to prove then, so how does it fare?

SOFT: Orange vs Grey Trigger Magni Range Test

Crispy over at SOFT has provided us with a range comparison of the orange and grey triggered Magni. See for yourself the results:

2013 Nerf Sum Up

It's that time of year again, time to look back at everything Nerf in 2013.
And what a year is has been, with more blaster releases this year than any other year I've documented.

Also Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from all of us at Outback Nerf.

Loadouts 11: Sniping Part 2

It's been a while since my last Loadouts post. This one'll be pretty short since I don't have much time these days, but hey, exams'll be over in around 3 weeks.

Scenario Description: Player is relatively well concealed, behind or near cover, and can hit enemy players/targets while not being within range of enemies.
Keys to Victory: Accuracy and patience. If you can't get a good shot off, don't waste your ammo and give away your position. Sure, if you really need to fire then go ahead, but if there isn't that urgency then keep your shots for when you can guarantee hits.
Unnecessary Burdens: Large, non-sniper primary blasters. As a sniper, you should be travelling light to be able to fire, then move from cover to cover to prevent being retaliated against. Alternatively, if you're good enough, you can prevent enemies from taking your hiding place, which is good if you've found a particularly good spot for sniping. To do this you'll need lots of ammo and quite a bit of skill. If you are constantly being shot at, then either the play field is unsuited to snipers, you're not being a good sniper, or you're holding a critical position.

Single Shot 1

Primary: (m) N-Strike Nitefinder EX-3 OR Elite Firestrike
Secondary: Mid range blaster of choice (e.g. Elite Alpha Trooper CS-12, Elite Strongarm)
Gear: Dart holders (e.g. pouch on belt), sling/holster for secondary, ammo holders for secondary
Ammo: Suitable darts - stefans if possible, ammo for secondary
Purpose: To provide compact, high power blasting with a single shot pistol

Strengths: Range (primary), accuracy (primary), lightweight, compact
Weaknesses: Reload time (primary), priming strength required (primary)
Description: Both the Nitefinder and Firestrike have reasonably large direct plungers, meaning that a good spring upgrade and proper rebarreling/couplering can get you an extremely powerful and surprisingly compact single shot blaster. In the modding community Nitefinders were quite popular due to their ease of modding, the great results and their low price and availability. Though Firestrikes are not quite as easy to mod, they can produce similarly impressive results, with both blasters being able of breaking 100ft (30m) with well done mods and strong springs.
Either way, if you want to be able to fire darts accurately at long range but do not have the money for a Buzz Bee Range Master, Longshot, etc, a Nitefinder or Firestrike can be a good alternative.





Single Shot 2
Primary: Dart Tag Sharp Shot
Secondary: Mid range blaster of choice (e.g. Elite Alpha Trooper CS-12, Vortex Praxis)
Gear: Dart holders (e.g. pouch on belt), sling/holster for secondary, ammo holders for secondary
Ammo: Suitable darts - stefans if possible, ammo for secondary
Purpose: To provide compact, high power blasting with a single shot pistol

Strengths: Range (primary), accuracy (primary), lightweight, compact
Weaknesses: Reload time (primary),
Description: The blue trigger Sharp Shot, although it has a reverse plunger, has a stronger spring than the original and can fire darts up to 17m flat on a good shot (average shots are around 15m), making it a good alternative to the traditional Nitefinder/Firestrike. For us Aussies with weak downtuned blasters, the blue trigger Sharp Shot is probably the best ranged dart blaster that has really good accuracy at good range, since all Elite blasters use somewhat inaccurate Elite darts.
Besides the Range Master this is probably the best you'll get for stock modern micro dart long range firing. Against other stock dart blasters this loadout will probably actually do decently.




Single Shot 3
Primary: Wipeout Chalk blaster (m optional)
Secondary: Mid range blaster of choice (e.g. Elite Alpha Trooper CS-12, Vortex Praxis)
Gear: Dart holders (e.g. pouch on belt), sling/holster for secondary, ammo holders for secondary
Ammo: Suitable darts - stefans if possible, ammo for secondary
Purpose: To provide compact, high power blasting with a single shot pistol

Strengths: Range (primary), accuracy (primary), lightweight, compact
Weaknesses: Reload time (primary),
Description: The Wipeout Chalk blaster, once available in Hot Dollar stores, was a very powerful direct plunger blaster, with average ranges of 17m and max ranges of 20m. It was also compatiable with streamlines and even those had decent accuracy. However, this blaster is now very rare in Australia and if you see one, pick it up as it is a very good alternative to Firestrikes and Nitefinders. Besides the Range Master and the Sharp Shot this is probably the best you'll get for stock modern micro dart long range firing. Against other stock dart blasters this loadout will probably actually do quite well. Modded, the Wipeout is even more beastly than the Nitefinder or Firestrike.

Clip (Mag) System 3
Primary: Mega Centurion
Secondary: Mid range blaster of choice (e.g. Elite Alpha Trooper CS-12, Elite Strongarm)
Gear: Mega clip (mag) holders, sling/holster for secondary, ammo holders for secondary
Ammo: Mega darts and clips (mags), ammo for secondary
Purpose: To provide the highest (stated) range of a currently available stock blaster

Strengths: Range (primary, on good shots)
Weaknesses: Dart cycling time (primary), accuracy (primary), dart fragility (primary), ammo incompatability (primary)
Description: Ah, the Nerf Mega Centurion. Quite possibly the biggest disappointment in the N-Strike/Elite era with its incredible jam rate, dart deterioration rate and general terrible performance. Nevertheless, its awesome design lends itself to being a sniper blaster, and on a lucky shot it actually fires near its advertised range of 100ft. That is, at an angle. A very high angle.
For us Aussies the range doesn't even go near 80ft, advertising a mere 20m and quoting Urban Taggers, "An N-Strike Nitefinder performs better.". So if you're dead set on getting a Centurion, get a full 100ft US version.
Seriously though, you're probably better off just using a lightly modded Longshot than a Centurion. It'll be far smaller and easier to handle, not to mention the Longshot can use existing common ammo types, and is much more consistent.


Why no Vortex you may ask? Simple, the velocity of Vortex discs is far slower than darts for blasters of equivalent range. Though Vortex blasters do fire much further than regular dart blasters, their low muzzle velocity makes it much easier to dodge incoming discs than darts. Additionally their vulnerability to the slightest change in conditions (darts are less temperamental) and tendency to veer off make them bad for proper sniping.

Nerf Elite "Mega" - Opinion/Rant

With the release of info and a pic of the Nerf Elite Mega line from MLD (link left), numerous thoughts come to mind, and I thought I would document them all in a single huge post.