Blastersmiths UK & BlasterTECH Partner Up For Australian, Asian, & Pacific Distribution

In a recent press release from Blastersmiths UK, they’ve announced that they’ll be teaming up with BlasterTECH in Australia to help distribute the Blastersmiths UK products and items easier and quicker to Australian, Asian, and Pacific Nerfers! Blastersmiths UK is known for their popular items such as the MKIV Drop Leg Holster and their Custom Fabric Nerf Mag Holders.

Check the press release below for more in-depth info. You can expect to start ordering from BlasterTECH November 1st.

Bristol, United Kingdom & Brisbane, Australia

Blastersmiths UK and BlasterTECH today announced a working partnership that they hope
will be benecial to both companies. BlasterTECH is an emergent wiring loom and electrical
modication company based in Brisbane, Australia. They have recently started selling wiring
looms through their website, BlasterTECH.com.au with the aim of lowering the threshold to
entry for the average Nerf modder. Blastersmiths UK already sells an array of un-soldered kits
and 3D printed parts so a trading partnership seemed like the natural step forward for the two
companies.

The two companies first encountered one another through BritNerf.co.uk, the UK’s primary
Nerf forum. Mike, from Blastersmiths UK, and Dean, from BlasterTECH, got chatting around
electrical modication and the potential of selling modied blasters. Regrettably, the regulatory
environments in both the EU and Australia prevent the sale of fully modied blasters on their
own at the commercial level but kits and pre-soldered looms can be sold in the EU and Australia
respectively. BlasterTECH moved forwards with their wiring looms and accepted the oer of
distributor in order to resell 3D printed components and some tactical gear in order to fund
future development.

Australian customers can purchase BlasterTECH wiring looms direct from their website
(www.blastertech.com.au) with immediate effect and from the 1st November 2014 will be able
to access a wider array of Blastersmiths UK products without the risks of international shipping
or the wait that comes with lead times for custom made goods. All Blastersmiths UK products
listed on BlasterTECH.com.au will be available in stock for immediate dispatch in accordance
with BlasterTECH shipping policies.

Looking to the future, the two companies are looking to work closely on further developing kits
and looms for the full range of electronic foam dart blasters, including Nerf’s Elite Demolisher
2-in-1. There is a great deal of untapped potential in the many electronic blasters out there
and the two companies are looking forward to tapping that and bringing new products to the
foam dart blaster marketplace.

Contact Details:
Primary Contact – Mike Harratt, Managing Director, Blastersmiths UK – mike@blastersmiths.co.uk
– for all press enquiries and contacts

Blastersmiths.UK
BlasterTECH.com.au

New Elite Havoc Vulcan is Actually a Recolored Vulcan EBF-25 with Slightly Different Belt

Photos and News Story thanks to Diaries of a Nerf Armourer

Remember that Elite Vulcan Listing I told you about last month? Well UK Blog Diaries of a Nerf Armourer managed to buy one, and it turns out our worst fears are confirmed. It’s merely a recolored Vulcan, featuring the same internals as the old Vulcan. The only changes from Nerf at the moment seem to be modifications to the belt in order to for it to take Elite Darts.

Here’s some of their exact words and overview on the blaster.

The blaster takes 6 x D-cells as per its yellow predecessor and there are few other changes externally. The belt has only been slightly modified to take Elite darts and is a slightly lighter colour to the old belts that came with the yellow Vulcan. The green cap is here to stay, too, it would seem.

There is a slight incompatibility between old and new ammo boxes. The old yellow boxes appear to fit the new white blasters fine but vice versa there are a few changes that make backwards compatibility awkward but not impossible. This could just be this specific model, of course. :)

External functionality is roughly equivalent, the old bolt action is still there though the rate of fire is supposed to be slightly higher. Our firing videos below will show if that’s true or just confirmation bias on our part.

Now to the internals. They’re essentially identical to the old version. We have the same old under-specified switches, the same motor and the same coils. As far as we can tell, there’s no change in the plunger or the plunger volume. It isn’t really worth the extra £20 you pay while the old yellow Vulcans are still around here in the UK.

I was really hoping that the Vulcan would get better internals for better ranges, but at least this iconic blaster is making a small comeback. No word yet on whether or not other countries besides the UK will get this in stores.

Nerf Zombie Strike Line Coming to the UK in 2014, Amazon UK Already Selling Some Items

Thanks to the fan site Nerf UK, and Hasbro UK additionally for the graphic above, UK Fans get a confirmation that the Zombie Strike Line will be reaching their shores in January 2014!

However, Amazon UK has already put up items from the line to purchase! You can view what they have for sale so far here. The Hammer Shot, Sledge Fire, Crossfire Bow, and 30 Pack of Zombie Strike darts can be purchased from Amazon.

NEW Elite Havoc Vulcan Argos UK Weblisting Appears

A photo for the New Elite Havoc Vulcan

In a strange and surprising news appearance, Argos UK has put up a listing for an “Elite Vulcan”. More info, a product description, and my speculations can be found below.

N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18 New Images & Listing appears on UK site

TheToyShop.com recently put up a listing on it’s site for the upcoming Elite Rapidstrike CS-18. It’s release date is listed as “coming soon.” It also has a small product description.

Send your rivals running for cover with the Nerf N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike Blaster.

This beast of a blaster can hold up to 18 Elite darts and fires up to 75 feet.

The acceleration trigger powers up the motor for rapid shooting while the see-through clip lets you do instant ammo checks – hold down the trigger and unleash a storm of darts at your target!

You can also add most N-Strike accessories (sold separately) to the tactical rail and customise it for any mission.

The Nerf Rapidstrike needs 4 x C batteries (not included) and is suitable for kids aged eight and up.

Along with the image above, they also put up two new ones.

Check out TheToyShop.com listing here.

And thanks to UK Nerf for the heads up.

The Quest Nerf Arena in Action (Video)

Quest recently posted this video of their new arena in play. It was a big event, they even got their mayor to come and help open for the event. torukmakto4 on Reddit posted some interesting thoughts on the video though.

Look, I don’t really want to be that negative poster so I am really conflicted to say this, but…
Why does every commercialization of nerf have to be so… lame?
This is like some 1990s stereotype of nerf. Fluorescent orange and yellow arena in super ultra close quarters, with WAY too many people on the field at once, no conceivable way of playing an organized game or calling hits (note kid with darts on his jersey still in play), darts going about 20 feet, outdated underperforming gear. Some totally incompetent shooting and facepalm worthy play there. And kids, SO many kids. Everyone having a free for all shooting darts wildly and randomly at near point blank… I think I will pass.
Yeah, I have a major “Get off my lawn!” streak. I admit it, but I think this is just the wrong way to run a nerf event and isn’t helping us be any more legitimate as a hobby.

I’m a bit too busy at the moment to take some serious time out and comment on that, but I will say that most Nerf games I play in are not like the video shown above.

Elite Alpha Trooper being sold on Amazon UK

Ways of getting the famed Elite Alpha Trooper are slowly making it’s way across the internet. A 3rd party selling has started selling them on Amazon UK for £29.95, even though the suggested retail price for the blaster is about £19.95. The price their selling it for converts to about $45 USD. I tried adding it my cart to see the shipping cost, which is almost as much as the blaster, and the total cost was in the 90s.

Guess I’ll be waiting for Target’s in the USA to get theirs until then.

Quest reveals Nerf Combat Arena (Photos)

If you remember the news of Paragon Entertainment planning on building Nerf arenas under the name Quest, they have revealed a few photos of the play area via their Facebook. The place opens Friday in the UK!

N-Strike Elite Alpha Trooper hitting the UK late April or early May?

Above is one of the newest comments from my Elite Alpha Trooper news video. If you go to their site, it says that it’s out of stock, and there isn’t any options available for local store pick up or home delivered.

You can check the Argos website listing here. If you have problems viewing, you may need to clear your browser’s cookies.

MyLastDart also mentioned that he’s having issues with getting his Elite Alpha Trooper, citing a “distribution issue” as the reason. Hopefully we all get this upcoming blaster sooner then later!

Agros UK catalog reveals N-Strike Elite Alpha Trooper & Dart Tag Stinger (Photos)

Looks like the UK is once again providing us with new Nerf news! In the latest catalog from UK retailer Argos it revealed 2 new blasters. Coming this Spring, an N-Strike favorite, the Alpha Trooper, will get the Elite make over! That SHOULD mean better ranges of course. The Dart Tag line is also getting a new, single shot blaster called the Stinger.

Will the Alpha Trooper still be CS-18? Or will it be CS-12 like in the leaked photos? The photos aren’t too clear on that. One of my UK readers says that it’s CS-12. Stay tuned to http://www.argos.co.uk while they update their site, and it should reveal a little more info on this.

As for the Stinger, I wonder if it’ll get similar ranges to a Triad or Firestrike? I’m hoping it does, because the N-Strike Elite line leaves the Dart Tag line in the dust, at least range wise.

1/20/13 EDIT:
Argos Listing for Dart Tag Stinger/Target board: £12.99
Argos Listing for N-Strike Elite Alpha Trooper: £19.99

Info thanks to UK Nerf!