This topic's not yet a week old since the last post, so even though this is on the second page of General Nerf, I hope this isn't considered necroing. I tried to write a helpful post nonetheless.
Why are you guys all whining and saying it sucks when it can provide tremendous integration opportunity. Everything he pointed out can be fixed with some modification. The stock barrel restrictor assembly can be cut and replaced with a new barrel or a coupler, the airflow hole can be widened with a drill with an appropriately sized bit, the spring and o-rings can be replaced, and the plunger can be lubed more adequately. After that not much will set it apart from a well modified Nite-Finder and you can use it in a neat little package which makes integrations galore possible.
I completely agree here, this thing looks VERY integration-friendly. Honestly, the review was a bit harsh, it simply appeared to be from a
stock nerfer's perspective. The only actually annoying thing for me to fix would be removing the plunger head. I made a little list of all the issues the review pointed out, and I've written a fix / solution alongside it.
ISSUES ACCORDING TO THE REVIEW ------ POSSIBLE FIX
1) ISSUE:
...we liked the overall look and feel of the blaster (save its undersized handle — a far cry from the ergonomics of guns like the Nite Finder)
FIX: Doesn't matter, the beauty of this gun is the removable plunger and it's integration potential, not the body that the gun comes with. Very few (if any) of the experienced modders who own this gun will use it in the regular body.
2) ISSUE:
The barrel was too short to hold the entire length of the foam dart, possibly shortening the gun’s range
FIX:
Barrel Replacement.
3) ISSUE:
The rail system that allows the gun to add accessories and/or attach the weapon to other guns had been mounted on the bottom, making most useless.
FIX: Who needs / uses the N-Strike rail anyways? This isn't really a big deal.
4) ISSUE:
Where the Nite Finder’s air restrictor is easily removable, and in fact slides right off, here we can see that the Switch Shot’s entire barrel assembly has been permanently bonded together. To add insult to injury, Nerf has also drilled holes on both sides of the barrel.
FIX: Even though this is technically listing 2 issues, I decided to put it together. The drilled holes on the side are a quick, easy fix - duct tape. The site that did the review says that they added duct tape and it proved to be very effective. The other issue is a bit harder. Although the review site said that they weren't able to open the barrel by cutting it, akmetan was able to open the barrel with a saw in his
Switchshod Mod.
5) ISSUE:
Where the air traveling from the Nite Finder’s plunger courses through three wide slots to the removable air restrictor, all the Switch Shot’s air has to travel through a single tiny hole.
FIX: As proposed by Blasphemy, it would be easy to drill the hole out completely with sufficient drill bits.
6) ISSUE:
The Nite Finder has a nice heavy spring and well-lubed plunger, the Switch Shot does not.
FIX: Get some lube and do an O-Ring replacement. As for the spring, this is discussed in the next issue.
7) ISSUE:
Furthermore, Nerf doesn’t want you to trade that spring for another one — though the plunger tip is held on by a screw, Nerf has also taken the trouble of gluing the assembly together.
FIX: Unfortunately, this seems to be the one major issue that lacks a reliable, simple fix. However, it should be noted that it definitely can be done, because the review
shows a picture of the plunger with a stronger spring. If I were to try something, I would probably end up cutting it off and gluing the head back on.
8) ISSUE:
And even if you did somehow manage to remove the plunger head, you can’t just drop in a Nite Finder spring, either — the plunger arm on the Switch Shot is just short enough that when a Nite Finder spring is fully compressed, there isn’t enough leeway to cock the gun.
FIX: Hello, cut the spring, maybe? And it'd be better to use an industrial grade spring anyways, not a stock NF one.
Well, those are the major complaints that I found in ToyCyte's review. Practically all of them can be easily fixed with a little bit of effort, and it seems to me that although the Switchshot may very well be "nerf's weakest weapon" STOCK, it offers great potential as a compact integration when modded. Again, read
akmetan's Switchshot Mod - it's very helpful.
That's my two cents.
