13 replies to this topic

[kevne]

So I picked up an Elite Strongarm the other day from The Entertainer for £10. I played with it for a bit and I must say, I think it's my favourite Elite blaster so far.

I decided first off that I would modify this in stages. I can then record the performance increases at each stage. In this guide, I will remove the air restrictors and make simple seal improvements. Later I will add a new spring and make further improvements to the seal.

But enough of that. I know you just want to see it naked.





The shell comes apart really easy but beware of the slide. The 'back' half (from the perspective of the picture) is attached to the shell by the extension spring that returns the slide to it's starting position. The spring is held on with a small screw but you can leave it be as it doesn't really get in the way.





As you can see, the internals are a world away from the Maverick. Everything is brand new and works in a new way. I won't go into explaining the firing sequence in this guide.





After removing the trigger (there is a screw holding it in), this whole assembly will simply lift out. The plunger tube will simply wiggle free but beware of the little spring at the bottom. Remove the plunger rod and we can then get at that pesky AR.





This little pointy jobby on the front is the AR. It works just like a normal AR but looks a little different.





The view from inside the PT shows the full story. The AR is held in with 4 'legs'. I used a screwdriver and knocked them out. Then the whole AR assembly simply fell out.








This is what it looked like after removing some of the excess plastic left behind.





There is a small whole on the top of the PT. This will need to be plugged in the normal manner.





Next are the air restrictors on the turret section. These are simply removed with a pair of snips.
Once you're done, you can put it all back together.





Be careful of this little blighter though. This is the catch and it has a tiny little spring hidden behind it. This fell out when I was putting the blaster back together. It took me ages to find out where it went so be warned. It's a sneaky little sucker.

Ranges?

Well, really impressive actually. The ranges are an average taken from 12 stock Elite Darts fired indoors, PTG.

Stock blaster with Elite Darts - 36' (11m)
Modified with Elite Darts - 50' (15m)

Not bad for a simple AR removal.

Edited by kevne, 03 January 2013 - 08:58 PM.

[nine]

Nice writeup. Very easy to follow. I'm actually a little surprised that just removing ars garnered such a large range increase, for doing this mod to a regular Mav has only ever give me an extra five feet.
Did Nerf say that the Strongarm could hit 75'? That would be pushing it a little, even using angled ranges.

[kevne]

Did Nerf say that the Strongarm could hit 75'? That would be pushing it a little, even using angled ranges.

In the UK, the Elite line are advertised as hitting 20 metres (65') but in small print on the box it says that the range is actually 22m (72').

[proplus]

I bet a simple spring and barrel replacement and will make it hit 70-80 feet.
Otherwise, nice job.
I have a feeling that these will be seen in lots of wars as backups.

[Tangerle]

That is one sexy ar removal. I have a question though, how good is its seal?

[kevne]

The plunger head seal is pretty good. As good as any other Elite blaster. Beyond that it becomes dfficult to measure because of all the moving parts.

As you may know, the PT advances forward and seals against the back of the turret when firing (similar to the Vulcan). You can also see in my pictures, there is some foam on the end of the PT which will also go a long way to improve the seal.

[azrael]

Very nice. Nerf made some good improvements to the Maverick design, like the improved seal.

What kind of spring looks like a good replacement for the stock one?

Edited by azrael, 07 January 2013 - 01:12 PM.

[2TAGS]

Very nice. Nerf made some good improvements to the Maverick design, like the improved seal.

What kind of spring looks like a good replacement for the stock one?

Swarmfire 5kg. Works great on mine

[Kyhan]

So, I recently did the internal aspect of this mod. After 3 shots, the blaster stopped firing; it almost sounded like it was being dryfired. It would only fire if I pulled the revolver back while pulling the trigger. I compared it to a stock blaster, and there was no difference in space.

Regardless, I figured out how to make it work. I layered a bunch of E-tape and cut a proper hole in it so the space was eliminated.



I shot side-by-side with a stock blaster, and the stock blaster actually had a good ~3-feet on the AR-removed version. 2/3 of the shots were a few feet behind the stock blaster, while the rest were roughly the same distance. I didn't have a tape measure, but it was obviously not working as well as the stock one, or promised modded range.

Though it works with the tape, I'd like to know what I did wrong, or what I could do to fix it.

[Mully]

To fix it.

Could You get some pics up?

[mr trouble]

Chances are the plunger body isn't moving forward when you fire. That would account for the dry firing sound and not having the darts leave the barrel. If the plunger body doesn't move forward then all the air will just go out the sides an never engages the barrel. Try taking it apart and reassembling it. It's possible that the plunger body may have gotten dislodged from it's track, which would make it hard for it to move forward. Also remove that e-tape as it just makes it harder for the plunger body to move forward. Hopefully that helps.

[Kyhan]

Chances are the plunger body isn't moving forward when you fire. That would account for the dry firing sound and not having the darts leave the barrel. If the plunger body doesn't move forward then all the air will just go out the sides an never engages the barrel. Try taking it apart and reassembling it. It's possible that the plunger body may have gotten dislodged from it's track, which would make it hard for it to move forward. Also remove that e-tape as it just makes it harder for the plunger body to move forward. Hopefully that helps.

I was going to post some pictures, but it fixed itself when I re-assembled it, so there is no more issue. Thanks, though.

[boobie817]

Can the AR be removed by pulling it out from the front of the gun without disassembling it? Has anything tried this yet? I know the small hole would have to be plugged too eventually. Im just lazy right now.

Edited by boobie817, 23 February 2013 - 09:17 PM.

[Kyrativ]

Saw this in a Walmart today, would love to get my hands on a few for a rebarreling and upgraded spring, an 80' "maverick" wouldn't be shabby at all.