I don't have much in terms of measuring tape, but I'll test my stock micros tomorrow when it's light out and get an average if I remember. Remember, not all stock micros are the same. Depending how often it's been fired from the barrel before, it may fit better, or depending on if it's red or yellow, etc. etc. The point is, don't take my numbers as gospel for yourself once I get them. I don't have any Stefans right now as I mostly just do indoor gaming at college and the activities adminstrators and some of the game players sort of frown on using Stefans, so I can only do my stock micro testing. Also, I've noticed with the SM3k that on two good pumps, it fills up with air. The same happens with the AT2k. I haven't plugged the overpressure release. Anyone else find this happening? Back me up on this.

Doesn't sound like the friction is worth it. Also, I tried something like this once. The biggest problem was that the dart wouldn't go into the barrel properly as it was a tight fit. It would be slightly off and just crumple.

They should be about the same if I ever go through and mess around with an AT3k mod. But the SM3k works fine these past few weeks... we'll see, eh? Hasn't ever skipped or self-destructed... yet. I'll eat my words if it ever starts giving me trouble, but as it is now, no problems. Thanks for confirming that you need to pull fully forward to engage the rotator for the AT3k. I'll alert my 'deer in the headlights look' friend who always has that problem. Higher ammo count is nice, but what my experiments on the SM3k indicate is probably just a lust on my part to find a good AT4k.

I've never used an AT4k, the rotator and such might be better, if you meant on that one, not the AT3k. I promised someone numbers with stock micros, and it's about 60'-65' feet, which isn't bad for a minimal mod where you don't have to open the gun, and using an SM3k blue as the base weapon, and for using stock ammo. By contrast, my AT3k gets about 35' feet. Perhaps this is because all I've done is remove the air-restrictors and goop the barrels back on. As for the rotator being better in the AT3k, that's hogwash. On both mine and some friends' AT3ks, the rotator gets stuck sometimes about halfway. I think the problem is that you have to pull the pump all the way forward to secure the rotator's movement, but even still, it doesn't feel as secure as the SM3k's rotation and can even skip out of it. I've a friend who always uses the AT3k and has problems with it only rotating halfway, so his shot either putters out abysmally or doesn't leave the barrel. It should be noted that I could get the SM3k's shots to go further on a level shot. What I mean by this is, the gun was level with the ground, as best I could gauge by looking at the barrel. But it still arced up when it fired out, just the dart itself by a few feet. To correct this and get the gun to fire the dart in a line rather than have a few feet of arc, I had to actually angle slightly downward with the barrel. That's where I got my numbers from. Figure in another 5-10 (70-75 total) feet for the other kind of shot where the barrel is straight, but the dart arcs slightly. All shots fired from a barrel height of 3-4 feet and measurments taken at distance from tip of barrel. All that being said, I'd like to get my hands on an AT4k or an SM3k green to compare some day... I stand by my mediocre numbers (which aren't so bad when you consider the gun I started with) and even more strongly stand by my condemnation of the AT3k's rotator.

If you overpump your gun after plugging that air release valve, it will make a cool sound... once. Then it won't do much else. Just a warning.

I was wondering what everyone's favorite type of adhesive and sealant is for Nerf weapons. I've been trying plumber's goop, E6000, Household Welder, Gorilla Glue, plastic cement for models, hot glue, various epoxies. What does everyone recommend to get the strongest seal and adhesion? The reason I ask is because my friend did a smashing job of sticking a PVC barrel inseperably to the head of an old supersoaker XP65. I've been trying to put a similar barrel replacement on by big bad bow, but to no great effect. I get a good seal and adhesion, but the barrel always seems to snap off from the side at the slightest angular pressure. Anyone have any recommendations for glues to try or things to do differently? Thanks.

That's ten pounds. that's like 18 bucks and a quarter or so.

Wonderful satire! I should just amalgamate a bunch of random guns using duct tape. Or maybe I could try to integrate a crossbow and a splitfire. Man, that'd be an awful idea. I can't imagine anyone who'd even think of doing something like that...

You're either with us, or you're with the trollerists.

Hey guys. I'm looking into buying either an LCD or DLP home projector for some gaming. I'm opposed to LCD projectors because of picture quality degradation. I think a DLP is really the way to go and I don't think the so called "rainbow effect" from it is a big issue. I was wondering if anyone has or knows some friends with a home projector and could help me decide if I'm making a good decision. I want to get a portable (one pound) DLP style projector that's powered by a series of LEDs instead of the usual bulb that burns out after a few thousand hours. Theoretically, i should never have to replace anything. On the Mitsubishi site, they say that the projector they have produces 250 lux, which, for the size of the projection throw they recommend translates into about 110 lumens. Most standard bulb projectors with bulbs that die have about 1000 lumens. Can anyone help me decide if this is a good buy at $700 bucks? There's a brighter version from Toshiba but it costs like #1,800. Here are some specs and general info if there are any other A/V Nerfers out there who would like to consult with me. Thanks!

http://www.mitsubish...etprojector.pdf

http://www.mitsubish...proj_pocket.asp

I only get 2, sometimes three pumps max before it really starts to feel difficult to pump it. I get about two hard pumps on average and couldn't even force more than three, but I guess it all depends on connections, the efficiency of an individual pump plunger, etc. I'd never go over the recommended 3 that it says on the box if you want your gun to last you.

Thanks guys, though I think nerfer34 misunderstood me, as I'm not talking about TVs but a stand-alone projector. it's going to be pretty sweet when I point this one-pound baby at the ceiling and watch TV/play gamecube laying down in bed looking up. :-P In other news, the UPS man should be arriving momentarily with my other A/V purchase... an external TV-tuner for my laptop... yay portable console games!

Thanks for the advice, I'll gladly listen to any other anyone has to offer as well.

Refer to this.

http://nerfhaven.com...cxwq_liquitron/

What types of games, and what system are you using the projector for?



Meiser---

I'll probably be using everything from the NES to the next gen wii likely. It will be console games primarily.

I just did the same thing to an eagle eye with a crayola barrel today and some duct tape. I'm really excited about this new clear duct tape. Anyway, anything that's the right size for micros (1/2") that you can shove into the barrel tightly should work.

If you want to get on board with the sci-fi club at my school that notifies about Williamsburg games (weekly events with dozens of folks) let me know over AIM, please. (This is also my AIM name.)

We play just about every week in Williamsburg on Saturday nights indoors with about three dozen people... after careful conferring with Groove after seeing "Williamsburg", it seems I've already been playing with him before, knew him in real life, but hadn't realized it.

I'm a fan of the Dremmel with plyers follow-up. If you press hard in a circular, outward fashion from inside the barrel, you should be able to wear down the sides of the stub that's stuck in side and elongate it slightly. After this, get a small wedge that tapers to a point, something between a very small screwdriver head and an awl and jam it in there with brute force and sort of lever it so it toward the center so it can be grabbed with plyers. Be careful not to stab yourself. Not that I'd know anything about that... ahem... Then you should be able to work in the plyers. That's what I did with my AT4k and it made all the barrel holes pretty clean. Shoved in crayolas with goop and it worked fine. You can of course usse PETG or whatever else too. Wrap it in duct tape after it cures and you're done. On a specific note for the AT3k, I didn't care to keep that orange thing to have straight barrels perfectly, partially because I'm lazy (or broke the piece, take your pick.) I've found that a 2 inch section of 1/2" PVC in the center serves the same purpose with a bit of hot glue. Good luck.

They used to have blastfire DX500s for sale back in the day on ThinkGeek. Ahh, to be young again.

Here are some more fun powerclip ideas. The war between Tony2Nice and CheekyMunky makes me laugh my ass off. Best use of the powerclip I've ever seen in a while.


http://forums.fark.c...?IDLink=1230432

For the usual indoor games I play, the Tek Ten is probably the best close-range gun on the market today. The AT2k has better range, and using standard ammo without barrel mods, is on par with the nite finder at about 50-55 feet. The Tek guns get about 35-40 feet without modding. I've found there are two versions of the Tek Ten, one that has round barrels and another with stupid hexagonal barrels that doesn't fire stock micros or Stefans easily; it splits them. Oh, and don't use a Tek six. Either upgrade to the ten with the round barrels or use the AT2k.

Tek Ten is like a Tek Six but with standard length barrels, so it can comfortably fit a microdart. It also has ten shots, of course. Pull back the top part just like the lock'n'load, and pull the trigger. You can shoot almost as fast as a blastfire, but it requires two hands, and you don't get quite the distance. Also, there are two kinds of Tek Tens, some with hexgonal barrels and some with round. The round ones fire Nerf stock in addition to Buzz Bee Toys stock, and they don't split your darts the way the one with hexagonal barrels does, so look down the barrels. I purchased mine at K-Mart.

I've done something like this before. I just duct-taped two plunger heads (not from gun internals, like... from plumbing) together, and then attached a length of PVC that fired up... to make it so there's more of an air bladder to step on, you can attach vinyl tubing to the bladder, and then attach that to PVC. You can then place the PVC wherever you want as a sort of trap, or as a ranged defensive function, I guess. The air bladder reinflates itself easily. The only problem is it isn't set off by an indirect or very light step. Not enough weight to get the dart flying out.

If you can describe the piece, I may be able to help you from memory... chances are it's that little black or gray thing on the back that's above the rod and near the trigger... or it's the black thing that has to do with the rotator. Describe your problem with greater clarity or post a picture and circle what's wrong in paint or something and I'll help you out.

A good friend of mine runs/owns MAGfest. I highly recommend going.

Make sure you're pulling the trigger all the way back. Some guns are sensitive that way about advancing barrels. I once had a similar problem. Good luck.

The rotator can go back in at many angles/notches. You have to make sure you get it on the right notch/thread that metal part and screw the gray cap on tight. If you continue to use it with it's constant rotation that's put together incorrectly, it'll likely break the plastic collumn that the rotator rests on. It's a difficult repair, but I can talk you through it... The trickiest part of putting the black part of rotator back on this that the little shark fin thing has to go down into a little notch. It's difficult to notice, but you have to push it down past the surface of the black outer part it sits inside. The part that turns the rotator is what has to be at correct angle. It is gray if I remember correctly. It's shaped like an egg and has to be pointed with the oblong part of the egg pointing up, I THINK. Make sure you get the screw on tight. It's a finnicky rotator but even if you destroy it, keep all the parts and I can talk you through repair. Good luck.

http://www.enquirer....dartwars06.html
Edit: There appears to be a problem with this link, even before it started getting mass-clicking... worked for me earlier, hopefully it'll work again soon.


I found this article scouring the 'net today actually for more info on the comlink because I'm thinking about buying the trio from ItalianStallion. Hasbro's site was down that usually has those cool directions/old manuals for many guns, etc. I found this, and I was wondering about others' dealings with the police. On my campus, the police are usually cool with us as long as we stay indoors at night, with 30-40 players all drawing guns, I can understand that. Ergo, we never brandish outdoors and always have police contact for designated time and academic building we're going to play in, etc. It wasn't always like that. They only recently worried we were going to go outside. Anyway, the administration gave us the go ahead to keep playing because it's 30-40 less people, almost 1% of campus that isn't binge-drinking every Saturday night for six hours. I still haven't finished this article, but I thought it would be cool to discuss it and our own run-ins with Johnny law. Do you cozen him? Run? Does he confiscate your firearms? Is he cool with you? Are you cool with him? I want to get some perspectives and discuss this interesting article above. On a personal note, before we cleared ourselves with campus police and the administration, they did threaten to confiscate our "facsimile firearms" because they are contraband and not supposed to be possessed on campus. I.e. if an officer saw someone brandishing such a thing in the dark it endangers both parties, etc. I'll post more in response to you folks and as I complete the article.


Edit: This appears to be the site of the people who run this thing.
http://www.dartwars.moonfruit.com/

The blastfire and chainblazer are several years old. I recommend the Nite Finder as the best gun on the market right now. After water gun season, this fall, we should see some good new guns. The only other gun out there being sold at present that I can recommend with my heart is the Tek Ten. It doesn't shoot very far, but it's FAST and great for indoor wars. Only get the one with circular barrels, not hexagonal ones (stupid design splits darts). I believe it's made by Buzz Bee toys. Otherwise, check e-bay.

Agreed. The AT2k is a great gun, mainly because if you don't want to go all out to put new barrels on, etc., it's quite simple to just break off the barrels where they've been glued. With larger guns with an auto-rotator like the AT3k, I believe the rotating mechanism makes it much more difficult to just break off the barrels and take out the air restrictors. (this is assuming you're just going to keep the original barrels and aren't taking the saw and other goodies to the gun.) Even still, the AT2k mods quite well, and keeps a nice size.

This is a valid thread. One of the links is broken and the other two aren't all that detailed. I recently got a BBB and shoved 3 inches of copper into the stock barrel and used it to fire microdarts. Then I coated it with goop. It fires stock micros as far as my nite finders without bands. Anyone have a better mod? (one for stock ammo).

Hey guys, I'm in Cherry Hill. That's about a ten minute drive from you. Send me an IM at this same name as my account here, an IM is better than a PM but I'll check both. I'll send you a personal message. We'll get together... fun fun.

My appologies. I did a basic search here and on google. Ah well. Yes, that's my school. Formerly Sane, check your PMs.

We recently had some issues with Stefans for our weekly indoor games with about 30 people on average in attendance. Several people were using Stefans in this huge, close-range, cluttered mess. Seeing as how these darts were leaving many welts and we had some close calls with people getting shot in the eyes even wearing glasses, and we've seen Stefan go through fiberglass ceiling tiles; we've placed a ban on homemade darts for our games. I therefore only use stock darts.

This is my idea for a simple homemade gun. Materials you will need include two rubber plunger heads (the kind you clean a toilet with), three feet of washing machine hose or vinyl hose, and 10 inches of 1/2 inch PVC. You also need lots of duct tape. This will fire microdarts about 50 feet if properly done. First, stuff one end of the washing machine hose between the plungers. Make sure the plungers face each other to make a pump. Tape the thing together tightly. Fit the PVC into the other end of the washing machine hose. Tape up that end also. To load the dart securely, slide it somewhat into the barrel. Covering the barrel with your hand, press down (with your foot) hard on the two plunger heads. Let the vaccuum pull the dart in (but not all the way into the hose shaft). This will allow the dart to accelerate up the length of the barrel. I haven't tried this with Stefans or anything, but I'm sure if you find the right barrel, this would likely work with any ammo. What I then suggest is making a PVC tripod to mount said guns so you have a sort of area defense gun you can mount and stomp hard as you see fit. I don't have a camera and haven't done extensive range testing. This is basically a rehash of the old Nerf stomp gun that fired arrows back in the day, redone for other ammo. Let me know what you think.

I'm hitting 50' constantly with stock micros and a decent stomp from a 140 pound guy, so long as the micros are loaded properly. The acceleration in the barrel helps. You are correct in that it is difficult to aim. It's cool to wrap around my back with the pump in one hand and the gun firing off of one shoulder. This is my protest to my campus police who do not want me using "facsimile weapons" that might be mistake for real guns in the dark. Anyway, I think if it were mounted, it could be aimed better.

We play indoors and have a house stock ammo rule. Yeah, the aim isn't so good, and I had the missile-stomp in mind when I designed it because I wanted one that fired darts instead of arrows. Found another cool gun at k-mart, it's one of those big yellow water guns that you draw back and the water comes in and you fire it out of a nozzle... direct pressure gun. I sawed off the nozzle and it fires up to eight balls now, distance decreases with each ball because the force behind each decreases--still fun. And, the "trigger" has a flashlight!

What type of games does everyone play? We play indoors because we have access to large academic buildings with 30 plus people at a given game. It works out well with multiple stairwells, etc. Plus no wind to worry about and we're able to avoid losing ammo.

To get to the point, I was wondering if the games we play are naturally taylored to indoors, if other people play similar games outdoors, or what other games people like to play. So here are some of the game types we play. Please comment if you have any ideas for improvements or wish to compare or contrast to your game types. I'd also be interested to hear what types of games other people play.

Humans vs. Aliens: This is a standard two team game. One team sets up upstairs for two minutes, then have 20 minutes to attack downstairs. Everyone has one life, so to speak and go to a "dead zone" when said life has expired.

We also do a variation of that which just has a standard two army battle.

Vampire: One "vampire lord" goes into an alcove. We count up the other players. The vampire lord picks random numbers coresponding proportion of the players at random, usually about 10% of the players. Players walk by one at a time and the vampire flashes a "V" with his fingers to the vampires he selected. The vampire lord then has one minute to hide, and then everyone else goes to search for him. He can be killed by humans if they find him. However, after another two minutes have passed, the secret vampires become active. This means they can attack humans who may or may not trust them. There's no distinguishing feature between them that is necessarily known until they fire. Once someone is shot by a vampire, he or she becomes a vampire also. If a human shoots a vampire, the vampire is dead. If a vampire shoots a vampire, the vampire is dead. If a human shoots a human, the human is dead. We play until either the humans or vampires have been eradicated. Sometimes we'll choose a "van Helsing" to be a trustworthy human who is at least initially not the secret vampire, just for kicks. You must tell someone what you were when you hit them, usually you try to do so quietly. If the head vampire asks you what you are, you must answer truthfully. If you notice any inconsitencies or rules problems, I probably just left something out.

Animators: Two "animators" play without guns. Everyone else goes and disperses. They hide as evenly as possible where they will not see other players. After a set-up time has elapsed, the two animators (who are unarmed as stated) run in different directions and go to tag the "frozen" characters. When tagged by an animator, you join his team. When someone from the other team shoots you, you become frozen for sixty seconds and must point your gun DOWN. After said time has elapsed, you may be again unfrozen by either team, or used for cover in the meantime, which can be quite fun. When your animator is shot, you are dead.

There is also a variant of that called "assassination" where the animator-type players carry guns, choose teams normally rather than acquire them, and can have a team of people who die normally. Like above, when the captain is killed, the game ends.

Capture the flag: two teams set up as evenly as posssible in a given building. Each team has one flag to defend. When shot by the other team, you must take on a non-threatening stance, guns down, arms up, and "respawn" like in many online games. You usually respawn on the top floor above your flag, in most buildings we play that's the third floor, whereas the flag is on the first. We usually make crossing the third floor off limits. Shooting is on the honor system, when someone hits and makes that claim, you are out. It adjusts for the differences in force between a double-springed crossbow and a little secret strike. You win when you capture the enemy flag and return it to your base. If you are killed while returning the flag, drop it where you died. If you see your own flag, your first obligation is to pick it up and return it to your home base. You cannot leave it out in the open to hide your flag from the enemy.

Mole hole: This game is similar to capture the flag in terms of respawn and teams-picking. The only difference is that each team captain chooses a "mole" from among the other team's members. Moles may be drawn at random as a variant. The enemy’s flag need not be captured as in the aforementioned game. Instead, a proportional number of targets are placed right next to each other, usually four legs of a chair/table, etc. Sometimes fewer or more of such targets are used, depending on the number of players. This is defended at all costs. The point is to get enough players to these targets to touch them all at once. Each player may only touch at a time. The mole (spy) can touch one of the targets if he so chooses. The mole may falsely defend by having poor aim, or even openly betray his supposed teammates. Unlike in capture the flag, friendly fire counts. When a captain thinks he has found the enemy mole, he may fire at the mole. Once discovered, the mole’s respawn point will switch to the side he has actually been secretly working for. However, captains must be wise. If they shoot the wrong person, even by accident, that person will also leave the captain’s team and respawn on the opposite side, so captains must search for the mole judiciously. If anyone else on the same team shoots each other, they must respawn on their usual side as if killed by the enemy. Only captains will know who their moles are, so the mole who has infiltrated their own teams will not go back and tell their actual captain.

Jailbreak: Two teams are set up like capture the flag. There is a 20 minute time limit. Each team, when they kill the enemy, captures them instead of taking them out of play. By shooting their own (static) team members in the (heavily defended) enemy jail, they can free them. Once freed, a player must demonstrate a non-threatening stance and return to his own side’s jail before re-entering play. This prevents massive prisoner uprisings. Whoever has the most free people at the end of the game wins.

In all games where applicable, teams are to be divided as equally as possible. When captains must decide on something, they are to do a rock, paper, scissors competition. Winner decides whether to pick first or pick another advantage (which side of an asymmetrical building to start out at, etc.) and let the other captain pick first. Teams may need to be divided unevenly given certain inherent designs of buildings, outdoor areas, etc.

What are some other game ideas you folks like to play?

What's the difference between the yellow SuperMaxx 3000, the Green SM3k and the Blue SM3k? I know the yellow fires laramis (I think, anyway) otherwise, what differences are there between the guns? I'm thinking about picking up a yellow or green to mod and want to know any contrasts I might find to my blue. Not sure if this has been talked about before, but I can't find it anywhere...