2 replies to this topic

[skiermon]

Hey everybody. I joined Nerfhaven probably a month ago, but this is my first post. I've mostly just been reading...didn't want to contribute anything that nobody needed.

So yeah, I modded my Bow N Arrow....sort of pathetic, but it's easy, and I haven't seen this mod anywhere before. Also, I'm making my own arrows/missiles...more like missiles -- they're thinker than the arrows.

First, i'll talk about the mod to the gun itself. I'm gonna call it the shotgun mod, cause that's basically what it is. I took a PVC reducer couplink, 2.5 to 3 inches, i think, combined it with crayolas, foam piping insulation, maybe a foot of poly-foam caulk saver/fbr/whatever the hell you call it, and gallons of hot glue to make a removable shotgun attachment. Here's the process:

I sort of winged this thing; it's pretty intuitive, and these rough directions should be enough to get you going. No pics yet, but if you guys are interested, bug me and i might get some up.

First, i cut about four inches of foam insulation (.5") and stuck it into the narrower end of the PVC reducer. It didn't fill the gap completely, so i glued a ring of FBR around one end of the insulation to add to the diameter. Now, you can slide the insulation in and the FBR ring will keep a good seal. Hot glue it all together and make sure there aren't any gaps (except for the hole in the end -- KEEP THAT OPEN) and you should get a pretty good seal.

I used four crayola barrels. There's definitely room for more, but as this is my first try at this mod, i wanted to keep things simple. In order to get the "array" of barrels sealed, i used a piece of FBR as a center post and glued the four barrels onto it, 90 degrees apart from each other. I wanted the barrels to be centered in the wide part of the PVC reducer, so from here it was just a matter of building up a seal of pieces of FBR rings and one inch pieces. And lots of hot glue. Maybe 3 sticks.

As for barrels, you really don't need to use crayolas; i'm sure PCV, or brass would work just fine. I just happened to have crayolas on hand (and they were free). I actually made the mistake of using different brand marker tubes, so they had slightly differing diameters. Now, only two of my barrels will fire, cause the other two are tighter around the darts. My fault; if you standardize the barrel diameter, you shouldn't have this problem.

Once all this is done, and you're confident there aren't any leaks, you can put it on your gun. Just slide the narrower end over that yellow stick. I find that it works best if you don't slide the stick too far in, and if you cut the end off the stick so instead of two tiny holes in the side, you've got one big one in the end.

Pros: It's a shotgun. A friggin' nerf shotgun. Also, if you make more than one attachment, they slide on and off in less than a second, so you can preload a few of them and use 'em like clips. So it's nerf. It's a shotgun. With clips. Sweet.

Cons: Shitty range (15-20 feet). Yeah, i guess the more barrels you use, the less pressure you get per barrel -- makes sense, right? But I haven't done the super-charge mod on it yet. Home Depot (where i bought everything for this mod, except for the markers and glue) has some latex tubing, sort of like tourniquettes, but it's 15 bucks for 10 feet, and i only need maybe 3. But once i get that mod done, it should give more power.

This isn't a very detailed description of the mod...just some general guidelines. It's really easy, and if anybody develops a better way of doing this, by all means let me know. What happens with different barrel materials? How can I get a better seal?


ARROWS:
Remember that pipe insulation i was talking about? It comes in bundels; four 3 foot long tubes. I'm just cutting them down to size, stuffing the hole in one end with FBR, sealing it with glue, and making fins out of cardboard of some other flat stuff. I'd recommend going with 3/4" tubing tho, this .5" is quite a tight fit, and doesn't work if i slide it all the way down.

I haven't seen any new Bow N Arrow mods like my shotty mod, and only one person over at NERF HQ is making these arrows, but i think they're for that Unity Power System. I hope I've given you guys a reason to go dig up your old Bow N Arrow and tinker around. Please do, and let me know what you come up with.

[ompa]

Very nice first post and mod! Alas, I lost my Bow-N-Arrow long ago, and few of my friends have any left.

If you have any questions about anything on NH, feel free to PM me.

Oh, and before I forget; you can try opening the gun up and replacing the spring, or maybe epoxying the reducer directly on to the plunger tube after sawing off the stock barrel.

That is, if memory serves me correctly and the plunger doesn't go all the way into the barrel.

~ompa

Edited by ompa, 18 March 2006 - 08:13 PM.

[GeneralPrimevil]

The pluner goes as far as the reducing plane from the cylinder to the barrel. It does not enter the barrel.


You should be happy that all you lost was your BnA. I lost my AT3k (verge of bustedness), NF (cylinder broke free of the case), SuperSoaker (experimental barrel flattened), and every other Nerf weapon I owned in a move...I have to rebuild my collection now with nothing but homemades on a budget. That makes me depressed. Time to go work on a new one to make the opposite of the SCAR-N: slow rate of fire with maximum range of 250+ ft. That should be the complete opposite.

Nice writeup, too depressed now to compliment further...