2 replies to this topic

[stoicclown]

Just picked up the new "Air Zone Renegade Blaster Rotator X" from Toys R Us on a whim. It's an 8-shot revolver, in the same family as the Nerf Maverick and Strongarm (i.e. top slide cocking mechanism, as opposed to a hammer cocking mechanism like the Hammershot and Doublestrike).

Air Zone Renegade Blaster Rotator X

The main thing that attracted me to it, to be honest, was the removable barrel. It's a octagonal barrel that I thought would look good modded to the end of one of my Hammershots. But I noticed something peculiar as I looked at it on the shelf. Of all the Air Zone guns Toys R Us had, it was the only one that actually advertised a maximum range on the box. The box bragged that the Renegade could "Blast up to 70 feet." Pretty bold talk for an Air Zone gun, since most Air Zone guns I've had were hard pressed to shoot 20 feet, much less 70. And none of the other Air Zone guns even attempted to boast a potential range. So I just had to try it, and at only $12, it wasn't going to break my bank.

I'm glad to report that for once, Air Zone actually made a pretty good blaster with the Renegade. I don't know about 70 feet, as I have only tested it indoors so far, but I have a stretch in my house that runs about 50-60 feet, and I can actually stand at one end and shoot all the way across to the other and hit the wall, with only a bare minimum of elevation to the gun's trajectory. And that's stock out of the box, no mods. Not too friggin' shabby.

There are a couple of downsides to the Renegade, though. The rotator mechanism that operates the dart cylinder is a bit clumsy, and skips a bit as you trigger through the rounds, occasionally misfiring as it tries to fire from the empty chamber from the previous round. The grip (like many Air Zone guns) is crap, in my opinion. It's way too small, and has a big, squared, boxy end that is very uncomfortable to hold (for anyone with hands larger than a 9 year old). And the darts are a bit cheap, as the glue that is supposed to secure the rubber tips to the foam shafts isn't the greatest, and I've had to glue a few of them back together when the tips came off in my fingers when I pulled the darts out of the cylinder. Also it should be noted that the Renegade can fire Nerf elite darts, but you will have to shorten your Nerf darts a tad (maybe 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch). The foam shafts of the Renegade darts are the same length as a Nerf dart, but the rubber tips are shorter and don't dome out as much as the elite darts do. This makes the elite darts a little too long, which causes them to jam up the cylinder's rotation.

But other than that, I'm actually pleased with this Air Zone blaster (for a change). I'll still probably use the barrel on my Hammershot, just for the kicks, and I'm going to try do something about that horrible grip, but otherwise I find it to be a pleasantly acceptable addition to the arsenal.

I'd love to hear if anybody has found and tried this blaster out yet and see what your opinions are.

[Buffdaddy]

I'm posting here so I can remember to discuss it - I'll be doing a mod thread later tonight. Fixes the skipping, and misfiring.

EDIT:

Mine was definitely hitting over 70 feet, fired at an angle (as the manufacturers would), so the box didn't lie. For our uses, flat ranges are the same as Elite blasters, and the darts don't veer off as wildly as Elite streamlines.

Edited by Buffdaddy, 19 August 2014 - 05:49 PM.

[Emote]

Nice. I was looking at them the other day in store but couldn't justify it. Maybe I will pick one up now.