kevne

Calling all British Nerfers! Want to come to a war in Old Blighty?

The first main UK Nerf war of the 2014 season will be held on the Downs here in Bristol using an adapted set of Humans Versus Zombies rules.

The game's setting background can be found here.

The full rule set is available here - there may be some minor revisions to it but I'm happy with it as it stands.

Facebook event is here, join so I can get an idea of numbers.

For more info and to contact the organiser directly, visit the Britnerf Forum.

Day Plan:
0930-1030: Players arrive for orientation, derping and blaster checks
1030: Full rules briefing
1100: Time in, game starts
1500: Final mission planned to start
1600: Game ends

Open game:
Once the game starts, bandanas/bands go on and stay on. There is no stopping once things start, the first mission briefing will be given at the beginning. Further missions will be unlocked as you go. If you want lunch, build the human safe zone and camp out there.

The game will start punctually at the time advertised. If you are late, report to the Admin area to receive your armband and you will be inducted into the game. Leaders of both teams will have radios and so you may be able to link up with other humans, otherwise it's fine to take your squad and go alone.

Gear:
Suggested:
Nerf blasters (including darts or discs, home-made are fine so long as there are no metal components)
Socks (washed, clean, as an alternative to blasters)
LARP Safe Melee weapons (if you have them, they're an option)
Stopwatches or a digital watch (for turn times or stun times etc.)
A good solid rucksack, you've got to carry lunch in something

Mandatory:
Eye protection - sunglasses count
Lots of water
Sensible shoes
Food (coins, notes and cards are not edible)
Pre-signed consent form (for anyone between the ages of 14 and 18) - it should be a parent or guardian but if you're able to sucker one of the other BritNerfers into doing it then good on you.

Site Details


A Google Map can be found here - it's much clearer than the image.

This is one section of the Downs here in Bristol. It's a large, open space with lots of trees, bushes and scrub. For those of you with Sat Navs, you want to navigate to Ladies Mile. Of course, this is a large play space (it's intended as such) so communication and cardio are going to be vital in this open game. We'll be in a shared space with the public so remember that at all times. It is a public area and if you make a nuisance of yourself, you're on your own. We take no liability for you being a tit and there's a specific local bye-law that will impose a £500 fine on anyone making an arse of themselves - just FYI.

Remember folks, don't shoot passers by and do stop to talk to them if they'd like to talk to you. You'll be quite a sight running about like that and will get some weird looks, even in a city like Bristol which is famed for its student antics.

Travel details
Train: Clifton Down Station, walk up Whiteladies Road then Black Boy Hill (yeah, really) and you'll see the muster point across the road in front of you.

Car: A lot of free on street parking around, it's free all the way along Ladies Mile if you get there early enough.

A quick note on Ethos:
We're doing this to have fun on a Saturday afternoon. It gets us outdoors and running about and doing something a little less than mainstream. All moderation decisions will be taken in light of this central ethos. Play the game, enjoy yourself and don't whine about getting tagged. I've tried to highlight the merits of both teams in the rules but I'd like to stress that getting turned isn't the end of the world! Think of it as a new phase: one where you don't need to be paranoid and watching your corners all the time. One where you can happily run down whole groups of humans at a stroke. I don't take kindly to human supremacists in HvZ. If you're tagged, you're tagged - don't put your bandanna back on or refuse to hand over your human card because you want to stay human. Take it in the spirit of the game and we'll all have more fun. Though seriously, anyone caught being a human dick will feel the full force of my banhammer.

Contingencies:
In the event that the Downs is a swamp in the week leading up to 22nd March, at least 48 hours notice will be given and the event moved to 5th May. 72 hours before the event, I'll check the weather and wander the site and again 48 hours before so I can make a decision. Any decision will be posted here.

This war is being hosted by Boff on the Britnerf forum.

I love the Rapidstrike but like many others, I felt that the stock needed a little work to make it better.

Out of the box the buttstock can be locked in two positions; fully extended or fully collapsed.

While this doesn't really bother me, it would have been cool if there were various stages like with the Raider stock. Being the curious fellow that I am, I set about giving the RS stock a variety of adjustment options. Turns out it's pretty simple to do.



The stock can be removed very easily once you have the blaster open. The blue collar contains the locking mechanism and allows the stock to slide in and out.



This long white piece is the bit that contains the locks so this is what we need to get at. The blue collar is all one piece so in order to get it off it will have to slide off the end. This is not currently possible because there are four 'lugs' on the grey shaft. You first need to slide the blue collar all the way to the back of the stock. By simply shaving the lugs off and creating a ramp, you can easily pull the blue collar forward and off of the stock.



Now the long white piece can be removed from the blue collar. You will see that there is a square hole at each end. These holes locate the mechanism in the stock and are what causes the stock to lock in place. By simply adding more holes you can add extra levels of adjustment to your buttstock. I chose to add one extra hole but there is no reason why you couldn't add more, just be careful to get the holes in line with the ones that are already there.



Replace the white piece and slide the blue collar back on to the stock and you're all done. No need to worry about pulling too hard and pulling the stock off during battle, the metal bar that passes through the stock will stop that.

The 2013 UK Toy Fair had many new secrets for those who attended.

Fortunately, here is one of them I can divulge without risk of a lawsuit.

I am proud to present my a review of the Dart Tag, Target Tag set. Featuring the brand new Dart Tag Stinger.





The set includes a new blaster called the Dart Tag Stinger along with a large target, designed for use with the Dart Tag 'Tagger' Darts. This set is the perfect solution to boredom on those wet and windy days when there is no one else to play with. Much like the Tech Target of old, but without the 'Tech' part. The target is quite large and very stable on it's stand. Best of all, tagger darts stick really well so aslong as you hit the target, you won't have to scurry around to find the ones that bounced off.

I used to have a Dart Tag jersey on the wall for my Dart Tag silliness. That has now gone and been replaced by the target. Not for the obvious reasons, but because the darts hit it with a loud thud. That makes me smile.

For me (and I'm sure you) the most interesting part of this set has to be the blaster. The Dart Tag Stinger.





The Stinger obviously looks a lot like the N-Strike Jolt IX-1 but with a bit of a facelift. It has a bit more of a 'spacey' feel which this guy likes a lot. The two holes on the top serve as dart holders and the colourscheme is really appealing.

But enough with all that. Let's get beneath this pretty frock and see what's new!





The Plunger head of the Stinger is exactly the same as that of the Jolt. Hopes for a stronger spring or improved plunger design have all but been dashed. Next I began to remove the rest of the shell. Like some of the other Dart Tag blasters, the shell comes away in sections to reveal something very interesting...


It's a Jolt... in a Space Suit!





So there you are. The new Dart Tag blaster is actually an old N-Strike blaster in a fancy hat. At this point I couldn't believe it. There is obviously no point at this stage doing a side to side review with a Jolt (as I intended) since they are the same thing. I wanted to hate this blaster when I discovered it's secret. A little more than a shameless repaint as we saw with the Elite Jolt, but shameless none the less. However I can't deny that I really like the design of the Jolt's new outfit, even more than the design of the original. In fact, it will replace the Jolt on my loadout simply because the new space suit looks so cool. What's even better is that I can simply put my old, modded Jolt in the new shell and off I go.

USER WAS WARNED FOR THIS POST

So I picked up an Elite Strongarm the other day from The Entertainer for £10. I played with it for a bit and I must say, I think it's my favourite Elite blaster so far.

I decided first off that I would modify this in stages. I can then record the performance increases at each stage. In this guide, I will remove the air restrictors and make simple seal improvements. Later I will add a new spring and make further improvements to the seal.

But enough of that. I know you just want to see it naked.





The shell comes apart really easy but beware of the slide. The 'back' half (from the perspective of the picture) is attached to the shell by the extension spring that returns the slide to it's starting position. The spring is held on with a small screw but you can leave it be as it doesn't really get in the way.





As you can see, the internals are a world away from the Maverick. Everything is brand new and works in a new way. I won't go into explaining the firing sequence in this guide.





After removing the trigger (there is a screw holding it in), this whole assembly will simply lift out. The plunger tube will simply wiggle free but beware of the little spring at the bottom. Remove the plunger rod and we can then get at that pesky AR.





This little pointy jobby on the front is the AR. It works just like a normal AR but looks a little different.





The view from inside the PT shows the full story. The AR is held in with 4 'legs'. I used a screwdriver and knocked them out. Then the whole AR assembly simply fell out.








This is what it looked like after removing some of the excess plastic left behind.





There is a small whole on the top of the PT. This will need to be plugged in the normal manner.





Next are the air restrictors on the turret section. These are simply removed with a pair of snips.
Once you're done, you can put it all back together.





Be careful of this little blighter though. This is the catch and it has a tiny little spring hidden behind it. This fell out when I was putting the blaster back together. It took me ages to find out where it went so be warned. It's a sneaky little sucker.

Ranges?

Well, really impressive actually. The ranges are an average taken from 12 stock Elite Darts fired indoors, PTG.

Stock blaster with Elite Darts - 36' (11m)
Modified with Elite Darts - 50' (15m)

Not bad for a simple AR removal.

I recently came across a box of nerfy bits and bobs in a charity shop. Some of it was new, other stuff was vintage but the most exciting thing was the Zap Snaps.

Now, I know these things are rare. I vaguely remember seeing them when I was younger but I haven't heard anything of them in years. I've had a bit of a google and I can only find really basic info on them (Nerf Wiki seems to be the best source as ever.).

So, my question is this. Exactly how rare are they? How many other people own one and is it even worth hanging on to? I usually only keep the vintage blasters that I really wanted as a kid but never had. Is this so rare that it should be the new jewl of my collection?

EDIT:

For those who are interested, Here's a piccy.