6 replies to this topic

[ejrasmussen]

To start this off I'm not sure if this really belongs here or in Off Topic, I haven't really been on the forums for around 4 years or so so I apologize if this in the wrong area.

I used to be a lurker on the forums but a largely active member in Nerf, modding guns, making homemades and having neighborhood wars with kids my age and even ones half my age. I started to grow apart from it after some time and eventually never really participated in it or any of the forums. I became active in other hobbies such as track & field, cross country running, cross country skiing and video games. This all lasted up until graduating from high school and starting college, I can't really participate in these sports anymore unless I want to dedicate an extreme chunk of my life to collegiate sports. And without a legitimate hobby I've felt like something is missing in my life all I do now is play video games and go to classes. I'd really like to get back into Nerf once again just to have something to do!

So on to the real point of this topic, I'm very curious of the current state of Nerf. To give you a gauge of when I left it was around the time that someone/some people (Ryan Mcnumbers I think) started making +bows with actual PVC arms instead of springs, and people were looking into drilling holes into the back of stefans to make them more front heavy and fly faster. What I'd like to know is how has Nerf changed since I left? Longshots, XBows, +Bows, and Quadshots were generally accepted as great primaries, have new guns gained dominance or has it remained relatively the same? What impact has 3D printers had on Nerf homemades ad well as modifications? Who currently are really great forerunners in the advancement of Nerf? Has Nerf started to make more guns with regular plungers instead of their horrible reverse plungers? How has the community changed over the years, is NerfHaven still the largest forum, are people leaving Nerf for other interests etc...

I'm sorry if all of this seems a bit much I'm just really curious at what all has happened since I was gone.

[archangel24]

Welcome back. Just like always, we still have an influx of n00bs coming to the haven, and I'm pretty sure the waiting time to be a member is increased and we now have the FNG(probationary-like period) group of new members to keep down the bullshit. But it feels like there are more n00bs because they are typically more active than the more seasoned nerfers that have been around for years and still remember the creations of boltsniper, Angel, captainslug and so on. Longshots are seldom used, same with xbows. +bows and other homemades are frequently used and the pvc bow arm fab has died down significantly.
3D printing is getting more common among modders, more than just the rapid prototyping that seemed space aged and was expensive as fuck done by boltsniper. There have been quite a bit of homemade blaster parts(catches, triggers, buttstock plates) made from 3D printing. Most of the r/d seems to be done by roboman(makes and sells 3d printed abs 2K turrets) and unholy3. Homemades in general have gotten hella lot better and are getting used more, and yes, snapbows are still being revised and used in wars.
As far as Nerf goes, there is now the elite n-strike line that came about. Direct plunger systems, more finicky versions of streamlines, and snap closure retention systems for internals. Quite a bit of the blasters seem to have the same internals, just reshelled but more than just reshelling a recon. They are so much better than inverse plunger whores of the n-strike line but aren't really too suitable for stefan usage modding. They also released new flywheel blasters in the elite line that are just amazing like the stryfe (essentially a clipped barricade) and the rapidstrike(full auto stryfe).

A lot has changed since you left, whether you came back at a good time or not, only time will tell(you left a bit earlier than the seemingly sudden downfall). Welcome back to the nerfhaven.

[ejrasmussen]

Welcome back to the nerfhaven.

Thanks man, really appreciate all the effort you put into your reply. I remember the real downside of flywheels was the constant spinning sound, do the new flywheel guns only start spinning when you pull the trigger or something? What are some of the good new moddable guns out there now?

[Daniel Beaver]

Thanks man, really appreciate all the effort you put into your reply. I remember the real downside of flywheels was the constant spinning sound, do the new flywheel guns only start spinning when you pull the trigger or something? What are some of the good new moddable guns out there now?

They all have a secondary trigger which you press to rev up the motor. Would drain the battery too quickly if they were running all the time.

[shmmee]

Welcome back. It's great to see people coming back to the hobby. There really hasn't been too much to replace quadshot'esque classics primary wise.

Many of the recent releases have had smaller plunger tubes, gears that strip and other devices that kill the quest for more power. The smart AR system (Ruff Cut, Triad, Zombie cross bow) has been one of the newer devices. Multiple barrels are linked via an air path and the AR's are used as valves. If held back by a dart - it fires, if the barrel is empty, the AR shuts that barrel off and air moves to the next barrel. Cool technology, but send more than a stock amount of air to the system and multiple darts poop out instead. Nerf has also tried to feed us a massive steaming pile of plastic called the centurion. We all had such high hopes for that thing, but the dart shredding breech and massive venting slits in the plunger tube have killed any potential there.

Buzzbee had an awesome little pistol out for a while called the panther. It was about $7 and had the power of a 2k. They quickly realized their mistake and switched to tanks half that size, then built a whole line around the smaller tank. Many nerfers hoarded the full-tank pistol, you should be able to pick one of them up without too much trouble.

With the recent regression of stock blaster potential homemades have really started to dominate the field. It's not an area I've gotten into, but I can definitely see the NIC leaning towards them for salvation.

[Draconis]

They all have a secondary trigger which you press to rev up the motor. Would drain the battery too quickly if they were running all the time.

Also, annoy the CRAP out of your teammates. You know, more than they already do.

[ejrasmussen]

Welcome back. It's great to see people coming back to the hobby. There really hasn't been too much to replace quadshot'esque classics primary wise.

I've noticed that the new quadshots have a different shell, are the internals pretty much the same? IIRC some guns got changes throughout their lifetime that made modding much harder, such as the Nitefinder.