7 replies to this topic

[Viper]

Mattel new blasters 3 years in making

[Duke Wintermaul]

I actually wrote an article about these when they were first announced late March.

Can't get over the straw darts, and the flagship blaster boasts the shortest range of the line.

[Langley]

If no one has anything intelligent to say about these, then I'm just going to close the thread.

[Boris99]

It seems like many of the asthetics are based of of popular nerf products ie. the flagship blaster with the super-soaker sheild and stampede stock.

[Spud Spudoni]

Yeah I saw these about a week ago on Fast Company as well. Since someone brought it up, I might as well put my opinion on it. As someone going to school for industrial design, I actually like their design. There focus on bringing blasters back to what made them so popular in the first place, is a really great place to start a new product line from. The fact that they are trying to blaze their own trail in the toy blaster market (in terms of the aesthetics; staying away from Mil/Sim designs that Nerf capitalizes on so much as of present) is kinda refreshing. I'd rather have a blaster that actually looks like what it is, blaster. Instead of something too realistic, that more or less just looks like a gateway products for young kids to enter airsoft/paintball.

As for the darts, I straight up LOVE the work they put into them. The "gummy" looking heads are really intriguing, and almost innovative touch on such a widely used dart head type, the "suction cup." That, and the "crinkly fry" front end, allowing for the foam to actually absorb the impact of the dart better, making it most undoubtedly last longer, is appealing.

As far as the downsides I see, most come from a madder's/ general nerf enthusiasts' perspective (which should also be taken into account by Mattel). The firing function of the blasters' push and pull to shoot design is kind of turning me off. Compared to a trigger, it loses lots of accuracy (which is obvious to all of us). It's a shame that EVERY blaster in this line has the same firing mechanism. Then there's the really cool darts, which when lost, probably cost a hella ton to buy more if Mattel ends up doing refill packs. I just hope regular darts will fit, unlike certain other blasters brands.

Overall, I feel like it's a great start for a company that has rarely touched this market, and a very widely monopolized one at that. They are trying something different, in terms of materials for darts and style. Maybe in their next line launch (if this one ends up doing well in terms of sales), that they'd conform more to what is successful in other brands lines. Only time will tell, since none of us have actually had our hands on one of their blasters as of yet.

[Buffdaddy]

Actually, the pistols have a plunger and trigger.

[Spud Spudoni]

yeah I realized this shortly after. However, the pistols really won't make much of an impact if the larger blasters' firing functions are not popular.

[FoamAndPlastic]

I am Looking Forward to the Rapid Madness. Its like a MagStrike with a Titan sized air tank. Perfection