No Elite Cam ECS-12 for New Zealand.

After reading some information regarding both the Rhino Fire and the Elite Cam ECS-12 I emailed Hasbro NZ to inquire about when we can expect these products in New Zealand, following is the (very prompt) response I received.

Thanks for your enquiry.

At this stage we are expecting to have the Nerf N Strike Elite Rhino Fire Blaster mid 2015.

We have not programmed to release the Nerf Elite Cam ECS12 here in New Zealand.

We hope this information is helpful.

So there we have it there is no way we are getting the Elite Cam here in NZ.  Now for seasoned Nerfers in New Zealand this has been an ongoing issue, such as no Alpha Troopers, or access to Target, Walmart or Toys r Us exclusives.

Now there is a way around this thanks to NZ post, if you check out Youshop you can create a US, European or Chinese address to ship goods to which can then be forwarded to your local address. Well worth a look and a good way to utlise some great specials over the next few days!  

Nerf N-Strike Elite Retaliator

The Retaliator is a single shot direct propulsion blaster from the N-Strike Elite range.  It is the reincarnation of the popular and easily modifiable Recon CS-6 with more options for loadouts and a larger clip size.

Usability

The Retaliator is primed using a top handle which you pull back and and slide forward then pull the trigger.  As with the Recon the Retaliator can be a quick firing blaster with a steady hand on the handle and some quick priming with the other hand a fairly decent rate of fire can be obtained.  The blaster is a good length and the added shoulder stock and front grip lends itself well to a comfortable firing position and a pretty intense milsim look.  Although the front grip leads to some decent accuracy it removes the ability to quickly fire the blaster in an intense fire fight.

The blaster is easy to load and the added bonus of the 12 dart clip means less ammo changes and more time in the fray.  Removal of the clip lock can lead to even quicker clip changes as it eliminates the need to prime before changing.

As a pistol with barrel extension removed and the shoulder stock the Retaiator is a mobile secondary weapon that is easy to prime and fire.

The weapon is fairly accurate and comes a front iron sight, in combination with the front grip this allows a good field of view and when against the shoulder means a quick sweeping action can occur.

When in Assault form the tactical rails lend themselves well to the addition of scopes and tactical lights as well as ammo rails making this a complete Nerfers blaster.

Usability Score 8/10

Styling/Loadout

The Retaliator sports the Elite colour scheme blue, orange and white and looks absolutely fantastic and is one of the few blasters I have that I love just the way that it is.  Although if inclined you can add a variety of accesories and retain the milsm look, the addition of a Red Dot scope is my main loadout addition.

When being used as a primary weapon I would loadout with my regular Woodland BDU and chest rig.  Although not a huge user of ammo a spare 2-3 clips would be advisable.  As a secondary the Retaliator would be well matched with a flywheel blaster such as the Barricade or Stryfe for those emergency quick firing situations.

The Retaliator is a well balanced all round blaster with good enough range to remain cautious from a distance or with practice attack a defensive point with quick priming and firing.

Styling/Loadout Score 8/10

Performance

As the below table indicates as with many of the Elite blasters the 15m claimed range (yep not 20m like the USA) is difficult to reach.  In fact in the emptying of the clip during testing only once was this distance reached, but only in pistol formation.  As a rifle the maximum distance was 14m.

The pistol form as with the Recon led to greater overall distance purely due to simple physics such as reduced drag from the barrel extension etc.  The minimum distance fired as a pistol was 9m and 7m as a rifle.  The average distance was 12.7m for the Pistol and 9.4m for the Rifle.

This placed the blaster at 24th as a Rifle and 12th as a pistol.  Keen eyed observers may have noticed the Orange Mod Works sticker in the first shot.  This blaster has been modded with a Stage 1 kit but due to some technical difficulties I have yet to distance test with the mod.

Performance Score 6/10

I absolutely love this blaster and it takes pride of place in my collection.  Despite been let down by performance scores and am hopeful that it will perform well with the OMW Stage 1 kit.

Overall I give this blaster 22/30

The Retaliator Nerf N-Strike Elite	Released 2012
Type	Single Shot Top Prime Blaster
Propulsion	Direct Plunger
Range - Rifle	9.4m (30.83ft)
Range - Pistol	12.7m (41.66ft)
Tactical Rails	2 (Top and Bottom)
Blaster Length	65cm
Boxed Accessories	Shoulder Stock, 12 Dart Clip, Barrel Extension and Front Grip

Emerging from the Bunker

Well after a 8 month hiatus a new born baby, a change in work I am proud to say that my Kiwi Nerf blog is back up and running!  It was funny how the change in season (to apparently summer!) made me reminisce about all the fun that collecting, writing and using Nerf products and blasters in general really is.  Lets just say after viewing the fantastic content on Blaster Labs the bug well and truly bit again.

So what are the plans?  Well to continue providing content relating to Nerf in the land of the long white cloud, trying to give readers up to date reviews of new products, release dates and local events. On top of this providing photos and loadouts of the gear I own.  I have a fairly extensive blaster  collection and have provided reviews on many of the older blasters that I own.  My plan now is to provide reviews on the 2013 Elite range and begin my collection of 2014 blasters (finance dependent)

I have also created a Facebook page for easy access to quick reviews, photos and news, with a Pinterest and Twitter handle to follow.

So what has happened in 2014, the Zombie Strike has well and truly landed with the impressive looking Slingfire, with its unique styling and priming mechanism (review to come).


The female inspired Rebelle range has extending into including a Secrets and Spies sub category along with a range of Hunger Game inspired Bows (and not a lot of interest from me).

The Elite range welcomed along the Demolisher 2 in 1 a blaster that this blog covered in its early days featuring banana clip, semi auto firing and a underslung grenade launcher (review to drop in next couple of weeks).

The mega range got some bow action with the Mega Thunderbow which has had mixed reviews but again the thought of bow inspired blasters doesn't overly excite me.  The Nerf cam ECS 12 has yet to make it to NZ shores but looks set for early 2015 release (pending response from Hasbro NZ).  The Rhino-Fire was announced and released in some parts of the world and this thing looks to be a beast! Having yet to own a Vulcan this high capacity blaster looks to the money and an exciting edition to any collection



The buzz around the leaked picture of the 2015 blasters has stirred some excitment,

particularly around the Modulus at the bottom, the Crossbolt and the Cyclone Shot both reported on by Blaster Labs.

A new player the hit the shelves as Mattel launched their BoomCo range complete with new Smart stick technology darts.  Having not strayed much from Nerf products throughout my collection I am undecided as to whether I will embark on a BoomCo collection, this coupled with the fact the current best of the Crop the Rapid fire madness costs a whopping $179.99 NZD!



Tek Recon unveiled plans for the Predator at the NY Toy Fair but recent information regarding its progress have been few and far between.  Although on the plus kiwis can now order Tek Recon Battle Pack through Fishpond for $89.99 delivered.

So as I hibernated from the world of Nerf and Blasters a lot has changed but I am hopeful to be back in the game for a while to come.