33 replies to this topic

[Nerfy BuNNy]

Hey, I probably have not visited any of these forums for about, 2 or more years now. But, I have something to tell, so I decided to share it with the communities.

Recently, (more like, yesterday) I felt like finding something new to shoot at one of my friends who was over. We were, fortunately - using plasticine to mold a project for a biology class. My Stefans were tucked snug away under one of my seats in a ziplock bag, and I found they went to slow anyways, so I took one of the plasticine chunks in my hand and quickly rolled it into a sphere.

I rolled it down the barrel of my SM 1500, expecting it to flop and fall after 10ft just like all the other items I have placed in my gun to attempt to shoot. I pumped it 3 times, and wam. It smacked so fast against the wall on the other side of my basement.

Not only did this little very non perfect sphere I had made with plasticine in 2 seconds fly as fast as one of my stefans, it also stuck to the wall just like a stock micro would.
I didn't like them to stick though, even though it could be cool.

So, I decided to sharpen my talents of making these plasticine balls, and fire them at my friend. After, shaping one better, a more snug fit inside of my barrel - I shot it at my friend from about 20-25 ft away, and it left a welt on his back. A large bump that was extruded from his skin, and it was mighty pinkish red. He rated the hurt factor to the pain he gets when someone shoots him with his Airsoft handgun.

Not bad. Plasticine only costs 2.99$ for a large chunk, which translates into about , 500-1000 of these darts.
Not only that, when you freeze these little darts, they turn almost rock solid and they fire amazingly. They don't splat against walls, they bounce off.

You guys want to take a try at these? They work wonders. Also, works great for people who don't like getting hurt too badly.

Frozen = Pain (can also leaves dents in your walls, that look exactly like Stefan dart dents)
Room Temperature = Medium Pain (moderately sticky to walls)
Warm (just molded) = Feelable, and very sticky to walls.

The diameter of the spheres should be a little bit smaller, than the diameter of the inner diameter of your barrel. Some of the bullets that I made which perform best are almost snug fit, and require a blow to get them to the bottom of the barrel, however ones which are smaller and do not require this blow barely lose any range, power or accuracy.

Edited by Nerfy_BuNNy, 05 March 2007 - 01:55 PM.

[PvtMcFlurry]

That's a really ingenious idea. I would like to see these. Might you be able to get a picture up?


w00t 100th post!

Edited by Pvt.McFlurry, 05 March 2007 - 03:21 PM.

[NerfMonkey]

They sound like a good idea.

My only question is do they get hairs stuck in them? I'm imagining sort of a Silly Putty consistency or maybe even one of those sticky rubber hands you can throw at things and grab them. I only ask because I'm thinking of trying these and it would suck if the balls got all covered with hairs after a while.

[Yakkers]

This reminds me of a time I tried putting a ball of sillt putty in some dollar store gun a long time ago. It fired three times further than the stock darts it came with.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

This reminds me of a time I tried putting a ball of sillt putty in some dollar store gun a long time ago. It fired three times further than the stock darts it came with.

That is to be expected. Room temperature and warm plasticine will roll down the barrel, but expand and create a better seal when the air hits it (at least, it has in my own tampering with this stuff).

[PiMpDaDdY]

I only ask because I'm thinking of trying these and it would suck if the balls got all covered with hairs after a while.

I don't MY balls getting covered with hairs! This seems like a good idea. I would love to see some pictures of these

Edited by PiMpDaDdY, 05 March 2007 - 06:02 PM.

[Nerfy BuNNy]

Alright , I will try and get some photos up. Only reason I haven't is because I use Vista, and my Logitech Cam doesn't work with vista. (I am finding drivers now)

Some answers:

The balls do not get covered in hair, because they solidify when you stop molding them. They become too hard for hair to really get stuck in them. When you mold them, you use your hands (once you get good, you use 3 fingers and do it in a matter of seconds) and I assume your hands are not very hairy and have loose hairs.

The only time you would ever get hair is if you fired one directly at one, and the bullet was relatively warm.

The bullets shoot extremely fast, probably fast as or faster than my Stefan darts.

- Here are some test results -
I shot 40 feet with my SM 1500, my Stefan dart strayed off course, but my plasticine projectile kept going decently straight and very fast. Outdoors though, I would think that Stefans fly further because they are bigger and they do not get carried by wind as easily. But, I am still not sure, since spherical projectiles usually work surprisingly well outdoors for low velocity and non-lethal weapons.

One of my frozen bullets shot through a stack of 5-6 papers and ricocheted of the wall behind the stack (meaning it did not lose that much power whilst going through). I did not try more papers, but seeing as how fast it was going, it could probably make it through many more.

It clearly cut through one of my cardboard boxes, I don't even know how. It depends though, if you shoot against a box that has lets say a ink film over it (or lots of glossy print) it most likely will not go through and the bullet would flatten on the face which hit the box because of how fast it is going. This however, is also dependent on what is stored in the box, whether it is hollow or decently solid from contents.

Even with them not frozen or cold, they still work extremely well. What is cool is that you do not lose many as once they are warmed up because they always stick to surfaces, it is extremely rare that they would bounce back unless they were frozen solid like a rock (which only lasts like 15 minutes of No use).

If you shoot it relatively frozen, it will hit the wall and fall directly in front of it and not ricochet off like the glue tips of the Stefans. Mainly because the plasticine is hard and soft at the same time, on high impact it can compress and absorb energy, but it is stable and hard enough to be molded into a trustworthy bullet.

What they look like before I get pictures up:

They are just round spherical balls which are smaller than paintballs but a bit larger than the largest size BB.

You should really try this for yourself! make sure the bullets aren't too small and roll down too well as it will lose lots of power. You should have a snug fit (where you have to give it a blow to the bottom of the barrel). That is when the bullet is firing at maximum potential.


Alright , I will try and get some photos up. Only reason I haven't is because I use Vista, and my Logitech Cam doesn't work with vista. (I am finding drivers now)

Some answers:

The balls do not get covered in hair, because they solidify when you stop molding them. They become too hard for hair to really get stuck in them. When you mold them, you use your hands (once you get good, you use 3 fingers and do it in a matter of seconds) and I assume your hands are not very hairy and have loose hairs.

The only time you would ever get hair is if you fired one directly at one, and the bullet was relatively warm.

The bullets shoot extremely fast, probably fast as or faster than my Stefan darts.

- Here are some test results -
I shot 40 feet with my SM 1500, my Stefan dart strayed off course, but my plasticine projectile kept going decently straight and very fast. Outdoors though, I would think that Stefans fly further because they are bigger and they do not get carried by wind as easily. But, I am still not sure, since spherical projectiles usually work surprisingly well outdoors for low velocity and non-lethal weapons.

One of my frozen bullets shot through a stack of 5-6 papers and ricocheted of the wall behind the stack (meaning it did not lose that much power whilst going through). I did not try more papers, but seeing as how fast it was going, it could probably make it through many more.

It clearly cut through one of my cardboard boxes, I don't even know how. It depends though, if you shoot against a box that has lets say a ink film over it (or lots of glossy print) it most likely will not go through and the bullet would flatten on the face which hit the box because of how fast it is going. This however, is also dependent on what is stored in the box, whether it is hollow or decently solid from contents.

Even with them not frozen or cold, they still work extremely well. What is cool is that you do not lose many as once they are warmed up because they always stick to surfaces, it is extremely rare that they would bounce back unless they were frozen solid like a rock (which only lasts like 15 minutes of No use).

If you shoot it relatively frozen, it will hit the wall and fall directly in front of it and not ricochet off like the glue tips of the Stefans. Mainly because the plasticine is hard and soft at the same time, on high impact it can compress and absorb energy, but it is stable and hard enough to be molded into a trustworthy bullet.

What they look like before I get pictures up:

They are just round spherical balls which are smaller than paintballs but a bit larger than the largest size BB.

You should really try this for yourself! make sure the bullets aren't too small and roll down too well as it will lose lots of power. You should have a snug fit (where you have to give it a blow to the bottom of the barrel). That is when the bullet is firing at maximum potential.


Alright , I will try and get some photos up. Only reason I haven't is because I use Vista, and my Logitech Cam doesn't work with vista. (I am finding drivers now)

Some answers:

The balls do not get covered in hair, because they solidify when you stop molding them. They become too hard for hair to really get stuck in them. When you mold them, you use your hands (once you get good, you use 3 fingers and do it in a matter of seconds) and I assume your hands are not very hairy and have loose hairs.

The only time you would ever get hair is if you fired one directly at one, and the bullet was relatively warm.

The bullets shoot extremely fast, probably fast as or faster than my Stefan darts.

- Here are some test results -
I shot 40 feet with my SM 1500, my Stefan dart strayed off course, but my plasticine projectile kept going decently straight and very fast. Outdoors though, I would think that Stefans fly further because they are bigger and they do not get carried by wind as easily. But, I am still not sure, since spherical projectiles usually work surprisingly well outdoors for low velocity and non-lethal weapons.

One of my frozen bullets shot through a stack of 5-6 papers and ricocheted of the wall behind the stack (meaning it did not lose that much power whilst going through). I did not try more papers, but seeing as how fast it was going, it could probably make it through many more.

It clearly cut through one of my cardboard boxes, I don't even know how. It depends though, if you shoot against a box that has lets say a ink film over it (or lots of glossy print) it most likely will not go through and the bullet would flatten on the face which hit the box because of how fast it is going. This however, is also dependent on what is stored in the box, whether it is hollow or decently solid from contents.

Even with them not frozen or cold, they still work extremely well. What is cool is that you do not lose many as once they are warmed up because they always stick to surfaces, it is extremely rare that they would bounce back unless they were frozen solid like a rock (which only lasts like 15 minutes of No use).

If you shoot it relatively frozen, it will hit the wall and fall directly in front of it and not ricochet off like the glue tips of the Stefans. Mainly because the plasticine is hard and soft at the same time, on high impact it can compress and absorb energy, but it is stable and hard enough to be molded into a trustworthy bullet.

What they look like before I get pictures up:

They are just round spherical balls which are smaller than paintballs but a bit larger than the largest size BB.

You should really try this for yourself! make sure the bullets aren't too small and roll down too well as it will lose lots of power. You should have a snug fit (where you have to give it a blow to the bottom of the barrel). That is when the bullet is firing at maximum potential.


Alright , I will try and get some photos up. Only reason I haven't is because I use Vista, and my Logitech Cam doesn't work with vista. (I am finding drivers now)

Some answers:

The balls do not get covered in hair, because they solidify when you stop molding them. They become too hard for hair to really get stuck in them. When you mold them, you use your hands (once you get good, you use 3 fingers and do it in a matter of seconds) and I assume your hands are not very hairy and have loose hairs.

The only time you would ever get hair is if you fired one directly at one, and the bullet was relatively warm.

The bullets shoot extremely fast, probably fast as or faster than my Stefan darts.

- Here are some test results -
I shot 40 feet with my SM 1500, my Stefan dart strayed off course, but my plasticine projectile kept going decently straight and very fast. Outdoors though, I would think that Stefans fly further because they are bigger and they do not get carried by wind as easily. But, I am still not sure, since spherical projectiles usually work surprisingly well outdoors for low velocity and non-lethal weapons.

One of my frozen bullets shot through a stack of 5-6 papers and ricocheted of the wall behind the stack (meaning it did not lose that much power whilst going through). I did not try more papers, but seeing as how fast it was going, it could probably make it through many more.

It clearly cut through one of my cardboard boxes, I don't even know how. It depends though, if you shoot against a box that has lets say a ink film over it (or lots of glossy print) it most likely will not go through and the bullet would flatten on the face which hit the box because of how fast it is going. This however, is also dependent on what is stored in the box, whether it is hollow or decently solid from contents.

Even with them not frozen or cold, they still work extremely well. What is cool is that you do not lose many as once they are warmed up because they always stick to surfaces, it is extremely rare that they would bounce back unless they were frozen solid like a rock (which only lasts like 15 minutes of No use).

If you shoot it relatively frozen, it will hit the wall and fall directly in front of it and not ricochet off like the glue tips of the Stefans. Mainly because the plasticine is hard and soft at the same time, on high impact it can compress and absorb energy, but it is stable and hard enough to be molded into a trustworthy bullet.

What they look like before I get pictures up:

They are just round spherical balls which are smaller than paintballs but a bit larger than the largest size BB.

You should really try this for yourself! make sure the bullets aren't too small and roll down too well as it will lose lots of power. You should have a snug fit (where you have to give it a blow to the bottom of the barrel). That is when the bullet is firing at maximum potential.

[Commonly Hunted]

Can't wait for the pics.
Can't wait for the pics.
Can't wait for the pics.
Can't wait for the pics.

[Retiate]

I like the new discovery, it's neat and all. But is it really Nerf? Isn't Nerf using plastic guns that you modified or made to your own unique playing style, then using that gun to launch foam projectiles at your fellow Nerfers? These things sound much like Airsoft, and judging on the damage it seems to do to items you listed, it seems like it would be very painful, much like Airsoft.
At first I thought you were using it to mold domes for the tops of Stefans, maybe that would be a good idea.

[Commonly Hunted]

I agree with Retiate and would have used the material to make domes for the darts but wouldn't know how to permanently attach them to the darts. They would be the weight as well as make the dart more aerodynamic.

[Flaming Hilt]

I like the new discovery, it's neat and all. But is it really Nerf? Isn't Nerf using plastic guns that you modified or made to your own unique playing style, then using that gun to launch foam projectiles at your fellow Nerfers? These things sound much like Airsoft, and judging on the damage it seems to do to items you listed, it seems like it would be very painful, much like Airsoft.

I second that. If we go this route, BBs are next. BBs=Airsoft.

So where does the line get drawn?

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

So where does the line get drawn?

When it doesn't feel like nerf. (I.e. it hurts, it's not fun to do, it doesn't involve darts in any way). Trust me, this stuff hits you from a titan, it's going to hurt a helluva lot worse than a stefan. It might not break the skin, but you'll have a bruise and a very sore spot for a while.

[NerfMonkey]

Nobody suggested that this should entirely replace Stefans. Nerfy_BuNNy was simply telling us that these COULD be used as ammo. Just because someone discovers a new ammo type and shares it with the rest of us doesn't mean Stefans are going anywhere.

I agree that it's not Nerfish but they could be used for screwing around and for target practice.

[SHADOW HUNTER ALPHA]

Nobody suggested that this should entirely replace Stefans. Nerfy_BuNNy was simply telling us that these COULD be used as ammo. Just because someone discovers a new ammo type and shares it with the rest of us doesn't mean Stefans are going anywhere.

I agree that it's not Nerfish but they could be used for screwing around and for target practice.

I never said that these things were going to replace stefans. However, I would not use them for target practice because they don't realistically mimic the trajectory of the darts, and you therefore get used to aiming directly at the target instead of compensating for the fall.

[Nerfy BuNNy]

About it not being nerf enough:

I find that it only hurts a bit more than a Stefan at decently close range. It also depends on the power of the gun. These bullets work the best in Air Pump guns like, AT2k , or my SM1500.

In some cases, they might even hurt less outdoors or at longer ranges. I have never tested these bullets at ranges going further than 80-100ft.

I doubt it would hurt at that range, but most things wouldn't anyways. I wouldn't say that this would be too deadly or violent like Airsoft. It's just a fast way to make a large amount of bullets, which have the effect and efficiency of Stefans, but have the potential to stick to walls like stock darts.

I find it fun to use, as I always liked getting a little hurt while playing Nerf. Nothing you would cry over, and there would be no "large" bruises, or any purple / blue bruising. It's just a red mark and depending on how hard you get hit, it may pertrude from your skin. Like, when you get whipped by a leather belt for example, after awhile there will be a pertruding mark on your arm.

Pictures are coming in a second, have to reboot.

Edited by Nerfy_BuNNy, 06 March 2007 - 10:52 PM.

[six-five-two]

Hmm... I was thinking about making this with my friend a little while ago except we had problems of:
-Plasticine getting stuck to the wall and making oil marks
-Freezeing it will prevent marks most likely but will hurt more (we play indoor nerf wars)
-Hard to make a spherical shape.

So i'm guessing you have none of these problems? (Sorry if I forgot to read a part)

[Nerfy BuNNy]

I apologize for the double post, but here are some videos that I uploaded onto Youtube. I believe the second one is currently still pending.

This is the first one, just showing how it is loaded and shot. It hit the target I was aiming for, thank god it did. Or else, I would have looked like a failure.



This is the video for test 2 where you can actually see it slice through some carton.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LAEq0cIqaxQ

A third video is coming to demonstrate COLDER / WARM bullets! You can see it stick against the surface, and one to repel. You can figure out which one is colder and which one is not

I will link it soon as it is uploading

Hmm... I was thinking about making this with my friend a little while ago except we had problems of:
-Plasticine getting stuck to the wall and making oil marks
-Freezeing it will prevent marks most likely but will hurt more (we play indoor nerf wars)
-Hard to make a spherical shape.

So i'm guessing you have none of these problems? (Sorry if I forgot to read a part)

Well, Here are the answers to that:.

Plasticine getting stuck to walls and making oil marks. Not really a problem for me, as I do indoor nerf too, and Stefans usually leave dents or scratches for me. Oil Marks may be better, but those only happen when you leave them there for awhile and they are relatively warm. However, Oil vs Water + Dishwasher Soap is no match. The water and Dsoap cleans it up in 1 swipe if it bothers you too much.

For me, making a sphere and choosing the amount of plasticine to make it with usually takes a total of 10-15 seconds. Thats how I make so many in such little time. You usually rest a premade and measured one on the table, and work to make all your other bullets around the same size. It's quite easy actually, and i'm thinking of making a video of me making one in a few seconds.

Thanks for watching.

Edited by Nerfy_BuNNy, 06 March 2007 - 11:27 PM.

[deathwolf]

This is a pretty cool idea. These would work better with a tube mag than darts I'd think. I don't think they'll ever replace my stefans, though.

Edited by deathwolf, 07 March 2007 - 12:02 AM.

[six-five-two]

Cool videos. But even if it still does leave oil stains, I would hate to have a nerf war with just these plasticine balls and have to clean up oil marks everywhere..

[Prometheus]

A feasible idea, as a sphere is more aerodynamic that a tube/cylinder. However, you would only get one use out of it if you nerf outside, as crap and dirt gets stuck when it is on the ground. Great for reusing for indoor nerfing. Also, a mag might not work for unfrozen plastacine bb's, as the could deform enough to not be able to enter the chamber properly, or the edges get cut off, and poor seals result. They would work for a gravity fed mag, but you would need some form of seperator so they don't stick to one another in the mag.

Edited by Prometheus, 07 March 2007 - 07:09 PM.

[The Inventor Guy]

If it's so hard to roll a sphere with your fingers, why not just use a Sinker Mold to shape the plasticine into a sphere.
Having an X-Acto knife handy works wonders to trim off the slight mold imperfections that are left behind.
I do this with silicone and sometimes hot glue to make a solid sphere projectile. A bit of Petroleum Jelly in the mold first ensures the balls come straight out without having to dig in to them.

As for the magazine idea, a simple cog-like dealy at the bottom (if the mag is gravity) that rotates as the balls come down, thus separating them, would work well. Just look at how some electronic paintball hoppers work - the idea's not the same but the mechanics are similar enough to use as an analogy.

-Tidge.

Edited by The Inventor Guy, 08 March 2007 - 06:43 AM.

[murakumo32]

I agree that a mold will yield a near perfect sphere, or even a projectile that resembles a real aerodynamic bullet. I also think that having a length of foam at the end will stabilize the projectile better. It will also enable it to be used in most conventional magazines. Think about it, a LS with great ranged combined with a dart with great accuracy means a nice shot every time (assuming that you can aim).

[Shadow 92]

That looks pretty cool. The overall idea is great, the accuracy of Stephans with the fun of stock darts. I think I might put hoppers on all of my guns if I buy some of this stuff. Then all I would have to do is figure out how to make a barrel that gives the balls back spin and I'm set! So, where can I buy plasticine?

[Meaker VI]

For the record, we were having a discussion (that ended up failing) about getting spherical foam a while ago; and Boltsniper informed us that spheres are actually not as aerodynamic as cylinders at low velocities. I would find the topic and link it, but I'm feeling out of it and you can look it up if you don't believe me.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent discovery - you should look into a way of consistently forming them (as in a mold or something) to make them really good.

[Nerfy BuNNy]

Hey guys,

About the getting molds for spheres. If you were able to find a huge big stamp thing, that made dozens at a time, that would be very efficient. However, I find that even if with them as oval like structures, they still fly extremely well. They do not need to be BB perfect. Even, a clump of poorly shaped Plasticine flies extremely far and very fast. It just doesn't have the same effect on impact.

Cylindrical / Bullet like ammunition hasn't proved worthy yet. Most of the time, it is too heavy, and is not aerodynamic at all. They mostly get stuck, as there is too much surface contact with the inner faces of the barrel.

Oval Like, and generally "spherical" shapes do very well. I did an outdoor shot with my SM 1500. I was getting around 130 plus feet ranges. However, with a little push from my hand while I shot, I was able to receive incredibly powerful shots which reached houses across my street and hit the siding with a huge thump. (I did run inside too).

That was over 200 Feet for sure, but, that's with a boost so that probably doesn't count much. I don't understand why these fly so fast, it seems they have a very nice balance between weight / size. Not to mention they are extremely cheap and easy to make.

I was playing with them today at a friends house, too bad for him he took his shirt off whilst we played. The bullets were very accurate as I was hitting him (while he was bouncing around) almost every single time. He told me it felt like small Paintballs. I know that doesn't sound very nerf, but I like having a cross between non messy Paintball, and the awesome-factor of Airsoft (without getting sued for having a gun that actually looks like a "gun").

Anyone try these yet?