Zecong Toys Photon Storm Review

The Photon storm is my first non Nerf review making it unique and unique is the best word to describe this semi-auto flywheel blaster.

Usability

The Photon Storm is an interesting beast hailing from the Far East China and only available through Chinese discount stores or sites like AliExpress.  It is a semi-auto flywheel blaster with an on/off switch similar to the Stockade and Barricade, but this similarity is probably where it ends.  The blaster instantly doesn't have the feel of a Nerf blaster using cheaper materials and resulting in a lightweight feel.  Outback Nerf refers to the trigger pivoting around an axle and this takes some getting used and also leads to frequent trigger jams.  Firing requires only a gentle pull of the trigger and aggressive or excitable trigger pulls lead to the trigger being stuck in the firing position, needing the shooter to wedge it out with their fingers.  This can become a bit tiresome, but if you get the pull right the blaster feels very responsive.
The trigger is the first piece of difference to the Nerf counterparts, it has a different feel.

The blaster arrives packaged with 20 darts (10 streamline, 10 suction) and a 12 dart clip.  The clip has quite straight boxy lines and retains its military style look.  As with all clip blasters loading is straight forward, but without having the access to extra mags fast reloads are impossible and when this bad boy is empty it requires a manual reloading of the darts.  The blaster has no Nerf style locks so mag removal can occur at anytime, the blaster will even turn on without a clip (which by the way seems about as loud as a 747 during landing).  The mag release button is conveniently placed and can be operated with ease, the blaster will also accept Nerf darts so this is a bonus.

The stock is a little flimsy and not removable but still sits comfortably when in firing position.  The blaster feels well balanced despite having the batteries in the rear.

The front rails can be a little uncomfortable to hold after extended use and many Nerfers, Outback Nerf included add a front grip to remedy this.

Usability Score 5/10 (the trigger issue is to big to overlook)

Styling

Now this is where the Photon Storm gets some serious kudos, this is as close to a dart firing M4 variant we have in the blaster world and this thing doesn't disappoint.  It features a top tactical rail with a slightly tacky but no less cool ACOG sight straight out of the box.  It features a front iron sight and flash hider as well as some very cool RIS (Rail interface system) on the front barrel that will accept accessories that would fit a picatinny rail (but not Nerf accessories).  As a fan of the M4 (I have a few Airsoft versions) and a person who enjoys military cosplay the styling suits me to the earth.

Styling Score 5/5

Performance Distance

The Photon Storm is an average performer which I was disappointed about as I would have loved it to have go and show!  The trigger issue is a big part of this, if it gets jammed you can guarantee the next dart out will basically just fall out of the barrel.  Despite this the Photon Storm still sits at 17th of 38 blasters eclipsing most of the N-Strike range (unmodded of course) and even some Elite blasters.  It has an average distance of 11.5m (37 ft) and a minimum of 7m (22 ft) and a maximum of 14m (45 ft).

Performance Distance Score 6/10
Performance Accuracy

Well this blaster is about as inconsistent as it gets.  The first dart fired down the range only just missed the bullseye on an A4 sheet of paper, then the next 3 missed everything!  Followed by a consistent in or around the board.  Overall it ended up being very impressive and scoring highest on the accuracy charts so far.

Performance Accuracy Score 2.75/10

I really like this blaster but purely from an aesthetic perspective the glaring issues with performance and usability make this hard to recommend for the seasoned Nerfer, but for display purposes it definitely has the looks.

Overall I score this blaster 18.75/35

Nerf Elite Strongarm

The Strongarm is the evolution of the Maverick from the N-Strike range, featuring the rotating barrel reminiscent of an old six shooter from Westerns and cop movies.  It is a direct plunger single shot blaster.

Usability

Much like its older brother the Strongarm is a solid feeling blaster.  The blaster is primed by pulling back the priming handle backwards and engaging the trigger.  The trigger is responsive and fires with good accuracy.  The biggest change to the Strongarm is its ability to slam fire, this is achieved by holding the trigger and repeatedly pumping the priming handle resulting in a barrage of close range fire and elevating  the blaster from secondary to possible primary weapon (Marunas 2013).  It also features a priming spike which can be hooked into the slide allowing for the possibility of dual weilding the blaster.

Another important change to the usability of the blaster is the changing of the tactical rail from the priming handle to the top of the blaster.  This was always a concern with the Maverick as it cut down usability when a scope was added.

Once fired the cylinder rotates to load the next dart into the chamber, this is a change from the Maverick which rotated as the dart was fired leading to drop in accuracy.  Despite this there is still some issues with the cylinder alignment leading to misfires and a distance drop.

Reloading is straight forward and the cylinder pops right out at the touch of a button revealing the whole cylinder rather than a portion of it.  As with many non-clip blasters a bandolier is paramount to allow for maximum ammo capability.

The grip is comfortable and is well suited to an adult hand and the textured priming slide lends itself well to two handed shooting with your strong hand on the grip and weak hand pumping the slide.

The Strongarm is a simple and effective side arm that retains and builds on the iconic styling of the Maverick.

Usability Score 7/10

Styling

The six shooter styling is a love or hate look, although not a great representation of a military style weapon this blaster looks great.  The colour scheme of the Elite blasters suits it well and the big silver priming slide makes this blaster stand out from others in the range.  The above mentioned shift of the tactical rail makes for greater accessorising although is probabaly best suited to being left stock and using the iron sights for aiming.  The Strongarm is great as a secondary and can be either holstered or clipped to complete a loadout.

Styling score 3/5

Performance Distance


The Strongarm features many changes to the Maverick in Elite style bling, a change to direct plunger from reverse plunger and use of Elite darts was advertised as providing a large change in performance.  Unfortunately in my testing this wasn't the case.  The Strongarm fired an averaged distance 8.5m (28 ft) with a maximum distance of 11m (36ft) and a minimum of 4m (13 ft).  This placed the blaster at 32nd of 38 blasters tested five places below its older brother.

Performance Distance Score 3/10

Performance AccuracyFor its lack of distance the Strongarm makes up for it with good accuracy.  Of the six darts sent down the range the Strongarm hit the target 3 times and the backing board 3 times.  With one shot being very close to centre target.

Performance Accuracy Score 2.5/10

The Strongarm is a solid secondary weapon and has developed alot in usability from its older brother the Maverick.  But its poor performance stats make it hard to recommend as a go to blaster, although it does lend itself well to modification with a little help from OMW.

Overall I score this blaster 15.5/35

Nerf N-Strike Roughcut Review

The Roughcut is shotgun styled blaster from the Multishot madness range of blasters.  It has the ability to fire two darts and once and is slam fire capable.

Usability

The Rough Cut is a very comfortable blaster and is very easy to operate, it is a barrel loading multi-shot blaster that uses a direct plunger system. The blaster is operated through pumping the priming slide backwards and then forwards resulting in two darts being fired at once.  The blaster is slam fire capable by holding the trigger and repeatedly pumping the priming slide.  The blaster is also capable of firing a single dart with a half trigger pull which is helpful when trying to conserve your ammo.  The Roughcut has a AR system that means it will fire barrels at different times depending on which has a dart in it and will always fire two from a full trigger pull even if they aren't lined up.

The handle of this blaster is super comfortable and the large trigger means half and full trigger pulls can be done with ease.  The front iron sight allows for better aiming, but often will be unused as the blaster seems so much cooler fired at arms length.  The priming handle is just a touch small for an adult hand and can become quite uncomfortable when using the blaster to slam fire.

The addition of sling points is handy as this weapon will most likely be used as a secondary and stored on the back, adding a sling can make it quick to bring into action.

The Roughcut is easy to load but much like other barrel loaders this isn't as quick of a process as a mag change would be.  The darts do need to be forced into the barrel somewhat for best performance.

The blaster is very reliable and in my ownership has never jammed or had a significant misfire.

Usability Score 8/10 

Styling

The Roughcut is styled in the Elite colour scheme and overall looks absolutely awesome.  The slanted pistol grip handle and intimidating front barrel configuration make this an aggressive looking blaster.  And the pump action firing makes you feel like your in an old school game of 'Doom'.  This blaster is just plain fun as it is and despite having a tactical doesn't really lend itself to accessorising as it unbalances the blaster.

The Roughcut is best used as a close range secondary weapon and I would generally loadout with this stored loaded in the back of a vest with the handle at the top ready for a quick draw and fire.  The spray of the darts is effective over a large diameter.  The Roughcut needs to be carried with a loaded bandolier kit and ammo dump pouch for those in the field pickups.  I believe it is best matched with a semi or full auto blaster such as the Rayven or Rapidstrike for clearing an area or room on entry.

Styling Score 4/5

Performance Distance

I wasn't expecting much in the distance stakes from this blaster, but was pleasantly surprised.  The blaster sits at 16th out of 38 blasters tested (new tests have been undertaken as of this post).  It fires an average distance 12.7m (41.66 ft) with a minimum of 10m (32.8 ft) and a maximum of 16m (52.5 ft).

Performance Distance Score 6/10

Performance Accuracy

Accuracy was never going to be the strong point of the Roughcut.  The sparying nature of a real shotgun and the multishot madness feature of this blaster mean pin point accuracy is unreachable.  But as a close range room clearer aiming at solid mass it more than does the job.  From its 8 shots it hit the target 3 times, hit the board 3 times and missed twice.

Performance Accuracy 1.5/10

The Roughcut is a fun and very usable blaster that can save Nerfers from a sticky situation.  It currently retails in New Zealand for $44.99 ($34.98 USD).

Overall I give this blaster a score of 19.5/35

Supporting the NZ Nerf Community

Through communication on the Kiwi Blasters Facebook Page I have been introduced to a fellow New Zealand blog site Nerf Reapers.  Be sure to check out the blog page as they have recently returned from a hibernation.  I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting blaster information to sink your teeth into.  On the note of interesting blaster information still no word on the mystery Zombie Strike announcement, we will watch and wait with anticipation.

Nerf Sharpfire - Awesomely Nerf Review

The Nerf Sharpfire has arrived in Singapore and seems to be an interesting blaster for 2015.  It features a single shot chamber loading mechanism fired by pulling back the slide, loading a dart and firing.

This looks to be an interesting blaster and on first looks reminded me of the of the KJ Works MK1 carbine airsoft gun, which is a versatile, accurate shooter.  Although we are probably in for a long wait here in NZ I am looking forward to getting my hands on this first of the crop for 2015.

Check out these images courtesy of Awesomely Nerf and watch the reviews from both Awesomely Nerf and PWNED #90 from pSkySG.

A Merry Christmas Surprise from Nerf

Nerfer's attention has been drawn to a post on a Reddit from MarcusH regarding an official email from Hasbro UK regarding a new blaster to be announced on Boxing Day 2014.

For a change this new blaster has the Nerf world scratching their heads as often many new blasters are revealed a while before they have been announced by Hasbro.  Blaster Labs have referred to the below picture from Dartblaster.de and noted that it looks similar to the officially announced FlipFury but with a larger barrel possibly indicating a Mega dart could be used.  Also note the tactical rail on the top possibly indicating a larger rifle style blaster.

Having yet to review a Zombie Strike blaster (although I have both the Hammershot and Ripshot ready to be tested in the coming weeks) I am more interested in the unknown entity that is before us.  So often (as with the Demolisher) we know so much so early and then have to play the waiting game as it is released.  The Zombie Strike line looks to have gained real traction, heres hoping Santa brings me a Slingfire and Sledgefire for Christmas so I can get in the mix.

Enjoy the Holiday season

Nerf N-Strike Elite Stockade

The Stockade is the evolution of the Barricade blaster from the N-Strike range featuring a flywheel system leading to semi automatic rapid fire blasting.

Usability

The Stockade features an on/off switch which when engaged fires up motorised flywheels, the blaster will then fire at every pull of the trigger.  The cylinder is self rotating so darts areable to be fired in quick succession. The trigger is very responsive with the instant satisfaction of a dart firing and heading towards its intended target.  The shoulder stock is widely regarded as one of the most comfortable and versatile stocks of the Nerf range and I tend to agree.  The moulded plastic sits comfortably against the shoulder and allows for a wide array of movement.  The added bonus of 10 dart storage is a plus.  The stock is a fantastic addition to many of the other Elite blasters most notably the Stryfe.

My only issue with the usability of the Stockade is the limited space in underneath, an adult hand just slightly touches the the front of the rotating cylinder, although this is only an issue if you are using the Stockade as and SMG, Without the shoulder stock and in pistol formation the Stockade performs like an effective semi auto pistol and although it has a slight weight imbalance at the back is a formidable close quarters blaster.  The added bonus of a handle clip point make a valuable secondary.

Loading the darts is straight forward although slightly slow.  Darts need to be pressed into the cylinder and then rotated to expose the next one.  The loading again lends the Stockade to being better suited as a secondary weapon.

Usability Score 7/10

Styling

As with all the Elite the Stockade has the Blue, Orange and White colour scheme as well a a silver addition to the stock.  The stockade is an attractive blaster but does appear a little stubby when in SMG mode.  The addition of a top tactical rail lends well to the addition of a scope, although a red dot sight would be most applicable as anything larger leads to the balance being off.  It is disappointing that the Stockade didn't feature a barrel attachment option, but this leads me to believe that Nerf are billing this a secondary/light blaster.

When loading out with a Stockade I would tend to use it as a secondary weapon paired with a Retaliator or Recon with the primary weapon on a rifle sling.  I would also add a chest rig with the Stockade attached via clip point and in full SMG mode.  In order to cater for ammo use I would also carry a Nerf bandolier kit with 12 darts loaded and the Vortex ammo belt kit which features a handy ammo drop pouch for an extra 12-16 darts.  This coupled with a loaded chest rig for the primary means the wearer would carry up to 60 darts into the fray.  Many Nerfers argue as to whether to have the Stockade always on or for it to switch before engagement, I prefer the quieter approach so often just switch it on before firing although this can lead to some tricky engagements if your primary runs out.

The Stockade is a fantastic secondary weapon and could be used as a Primary on a quick capture the flag mission, although would need a good amount accessible ammo to support you.

Styling 3/5

Performance Distance

Unlike its older brother the Barricade the Stockade performs fairly well in the distance test.  Maranus (2013) puts this down to the flywheels being closer together allowing for more friction on the darts.  The Stockade fired an average distance of 11.3m (37.07ft) with the maximum distance fired being 14m (45.93m) and the minimum 8m (26.24ft).  This sits the blaster at 15th on the table and more than shows its versatility.

Performance Distance 6/10
Performance Accuracy

The Stockade is the first blaster to complete the accuracy and performed fairly well.  For the 10 darts fired down the 8 of the Darts hit the paper target, 1 hit the backing board and 1 didn't make the target. Here is the target displaying overall performance.  Considering that the target is an A4 piece of paper this is a very good grouping of shots.

Performance Accuracy 2.5/10

The improvements over the Barricade have led to a blaster that is versatile and usable in many game modes, the addition of the unique shoulder stock is a winner and greatly improves the overall score.

Overall I give this blaster 18.5/35

The Accuracy Test

So with the new addition to the reviews I thought it would be worth explaining in more detail how the score will determined.  The target being used is a Bullseye target as seen below.  The target has a range of numbers on it to indicate scoring, with 10 being the highest score in the middle.  Now most Nerfers know that the trajectory of a foam dart can sometimes be a little unpredictable so high scoring in this test isn't regularly going to happen so I have adapted the scoring system somewhat.

The target is mounted on a piece of custom wood 10 ft from the shooter.  The scores are as follows

0 - Dart doesn't reach intended target
1 - Dart hits the board the target is mounted on
2 - Dart hits the paper on the outer edge
3 - Dart hits paper close to scoring rings
4 - Dart hits first ring
5 - Dart hits second ring
6 - Dart hits third ring
7- Dart hits fourth ring
8 - Dart hits fifth ring
9 - Dart hits sixth ring
10 - Dart hits Bulleyes

A full clip or loaded blaster will be fired down the range using the same darts for each test (unless the blaster doesn't work with Elites).  Each dart is stamped with green ink and when it hits it target a mark is left on the paper.  This mark will then be reproduced in digital form and displayed on the blog.  The score will be added up and divided by the amount of darts fired to give an accuracy result.

Changes for the better

In order to keep this blog fresh and interesting I have decided to make a few changes.  The first is the removal of the loadouts section, which was primarily used to showcase the range of layouts that can be created if you have multiple attachments.  Although still an interest of mine I have decided the direction of the blog needs to move more towards providing 'out of the box' information.  Because of this change I will also alter the Styling/Loadout category in my reviews to just become Styling and be marked out of a score of 5 rather than 10.  I will adjust all previous reviews to match this change by halving the already established scores.

The second change is the addition of badges, these will give a quick indication of the blasters best points and are as follows

Obviously the top two badges indicate the best and worst blasters, while the third and fourth are indicators of looking good and performing well.  These bottom two categories need to have scores of over 7 to receive the badge.  The top two categories require over 20 or below 15 to get the respective badges.

I will also add a new test for accuracy.  After watching a few Click Click Bamf reviews I liked their top 5 tests that they do.  So I have decided to add accuracy to my reviews.  Using the ideas from Shawn O'Neils Nerf Dart analysis I have created an indoor shooting range, the blasters will be fired from 10ft towards an A4 target with scores of 1-10 as seen below.  I will the fire 1 clip/loaded blaster at the target.  Each dart tip will be stamped with ink so it shows on the target.  I will also create a badge to show blasters that have great accuracy.  The scores will be averaged to give a score out of ten which will be included under the Performance category lifting this score to 20, as I feel it is the most important.


I will also look to become more creative with photography adding more live action and life model shots, similar to what Blaster Labs do.

A Facebook page is up and running as well be sure to check out Kiwi Blasters - News and Reviews Facebook page and give it a like, that would be much appreciated.

The final change is the title of the blog, which now becomes Kiwi Blasters - News and Reviews the change to title indicates my expanding collection of non Nerf products such as BoomCo, Tek Recon and knock off Nerf blasters.

I am hopeful that these changes keep you the reader interested and continue to showcase my passion for blasters. onwards to my next milestone of 10,000 views.