Our first Nerf War, MAW, is tomorrow, June 15th, 2013. We’re very excited to see who will be showing up, and we’ve also got a special guest attending as well. Please check out the site at the link above for more information if you’re interested.
The weather is looking like there’s an 80% chance of rain in the morning, and a 40% chance in the afternoon. But rain or shine, we will be there to try to take advantage of any sun we see. The temperature is supposed to be about 77 for a high, with 72% humidity. So dress accordingly!
We will be providing some food to those who participate, but we’re not really sure how many people will show up, so it’s first come first serve. We’ll be grilling up some awesome locally made brats from Greg’s Meats. We’ll have some bottled water on hand, and there are drinking fountains, but if you’d like something else, please feel free to bring it! (No alcohol, please)
As for our special guest, we were recently told about a local Minnesota business called Bumpa’s Blowgun, which is a Nerf dart compatible (taggers and suckers) blowgun made locally. We’re really interested in them, so we were happy when they accepted our invitation to come to MAW and allow us to try them out and also sell some to those who are interested. Check out their website, and if you happen to be coming to MAW and are interested, you’ll be able to purchase some! We will be purchasing some ourselves to test out and give a review, so look for that some time in the near future!
I’ve just heard back from my contact in Nerf, and according to them, the Stockade is indeed coming to Walmart stores in the US. Apparently the date is up in the air, and to be determined by Walmart themselves, so when it’ll actually hit shelves is anyone’s guess. I’ve tried to contact Walmart to see if they can shed any light on the time frame for release, but after a week I’m thinking I won’t hear back.
As for the Elite Spectre, my contact is looking in to it further to see if it will be coming to the US at all, or like the Elite PinPoint Sight, be strictly an Asian exclusive. While I’m hoping that we’ll see it here in the US some time this year, I’m not holding my breath. I would really love to add it to my collection, or at least the awesome accessories that come with it. As for where it’ll be if it comes out, it’s anyone’s guess. I’m not sure that Walmart will have two exclusive blasters, especially with the sparse amount of space the already dedicate to one of the most popular boy’s toys.
I also managed to get an update on the Revonix360 and (what I’m calling) the Vortex “Color Splash” series. They will be coming out this fall, which tends to mean somewhere between August and November this year. Whether they are released before or after the Centurion is anyone’s guess, but my money is before, as they may be the ‘Clear the way’ blasters for the Centurion.
As always, check back frequently for official information on what’s coming out in the world of Nerf, and remember:
So it appears as though many out in the Nerf community were absolutely correct about the big reveal being the N-Strike MEGA Centurion! Still no word as to the exact date of release, other than it’ll be this fall, for a retail price of $49.99 US. Popular Science gets to have the honor of releasing this official information first, so check out their article here!
Now obviously we’ve known about this blaster’s existence for some time, but due to our affiliation with Hasbro as an official Nerf news source, we couldn’t post any information until they were ready to release it. But we are hella excited for this blaster! A brand new range with brand new darts, but N-Strike Elite Style? Yes, please!
I’ve seen some discussion online about the Centurion, and most of what has come up is either “How does it work?” or “I hate that it needs new darts”, and honestly I’m curious about the internals as any modder (curiosity is in my nature). Things come to mind like “Why does it need almost 2 feet of draw distance?” and really get me looking forward to what they can do with something like this, because there’s no way in my mind that they’re going to do a single blaster in a new series and call it quits, especially when it uses something that could be so versatile. And that’s something that we’ll probably talk about in a future episode of the AFoN Show. Now that the series is outed, we can share all of our speculation on what they can do with it.
As for the poo-poo’ers of the larger darts, I think it follows the same logic that if they do one blaster like this, they’ll do others. There will most certainly be dart refills available readily once the blaster is out. The wall of the darts do concern me a bit, but my thought is that they’ll wind up being similar to the arrows of the Big Bad Bow in sturdiness.
Overall, I think this will be a great addition to the family, and will probably be just the start of Nerf ‘Heavy weapons’ that will make gameplay more diverse overall.
Just for kicks, I made the image below. This is a scale size comparison between the new Mega dart and some other ammo options.
Recently I was contacted by the author of an official Nerf tome to come out later this year. His book is officially licensed by Hasbro to go over Nerf Blaster and some of Nerf’s history for younger kids (8 & up). It’s not going to be an encyclopedia, but more like this book. Still, pretty cool! I’m excited for it, as it’s supposed to contain a bit of information on future blasters that won’t be released until the book is published.
From Amazon:
The first-ever official NERF book, a stunning visual guide to the iconic blasters–from the very first ones ever made to a sneak peek at the blasters of the future! Packed with photos and facts, this comprehensive tour of NERF blasters features a high-energy design, kid-friendly format, and an exclusive set of 6 specially designed (and highly collectible) foam darts incorporated into the cover.
In the tradition of the LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary (more than a million copies sold), this is the definitive guide to the iconic NERF blaster, and a book that all NERF fans will want to own.
A hardcover, full-color collector’s volume, NERF: The Ultimate Blaster Book presents each blaster in a fully illustrated, detailed spread that provides a complete array of technical specifications (range, capacity, propulsion type, etc.), the story behind the blaster, and callouts explaining its special features. Sidebars offer factoids, activities, and more. And with 6 exlusive, collectible darts included in the front cover of every book, this lavishly illustrated book is the ultimate NERF must-have!
In the May 2013 issue of the Brazillian Tech magazine Info Exame, there is an article that Mr. S and I were interviewed for about Nerf in the workplace in the tech industry. It talks about how Nerf blasters are used to relieve stress and help to integrate employees into the business’ culture. It’s a short article, only one page, but it’s still an honor to be mentioned in print for our somewhat unusual hobby.
If you happen to read Portuguese, and I know there are a few of our fans out there that do, check it out. They don’t have the article online, but in the print and digital editions of the issue.
Are you an Adult Fan of Lego as well as an Adult Fan of Nerf? Then you might want to check out one of BrickForge’s latest offerings: a Dart Tag accessory pack! They’re offering two different packs, to allow you to construct two different dart tag teams (figures not included). They are both $6 a piece, which is a bit high when one is talking about a few accessories, but these are high quality and made in the US in smaller batches. The packs are:
Dart Tag (Delta Team)
- Maverick Hair
- Dart Tag Vest – Black w/ Medium Orange Crosshairs
- Medium Orange Darts (x2)
- Megagun
- Bow Striker – White
- Multi Arrow Pack
- Canister Gun – Bright Light Orange
- ‘Foam’ Sword – Lime Green & Medium Orange
- Automag – Lime Green
Dart Tag (Alpha Team)
- Hero Hair
- Dart Tag Vest – Black w/ Lime Crosshairs
- Lime Green Darts (x2)
- Megagun
- Shotgun – Bright Light Orange
- Bow Striker – Bright Light Orange
- Multi Arrow Pack
- Canister Gun – Lime Green
- ‘Foam’ Sword – Rust
It also looks like they’ll be offering a pair of Super Soaker accessory packs in the future as well, though as of the writing of this article, they’re not available on their store. Check them out, as well as their other awesome offerings at BrickForge.com.
