It’s time for another review from outside the world of Nerf.  With the release of the movie The Dark Knight Rises coming to theaters soon, it’s probably time we talk about the Triple Barrel Grapnel Blaster that is in stores now.

This is the second Mattel Batman Dart blaster I’ve had the opportunity to own and test out, and the quality isn’t all that bad.  As far as plastic goes, the overall construction is solid, although the trigger feels a little loose especially when not primed.  The dart construction(comes with 3) is very similar to a Nerf Sonic dart.  Quality of foam in the body of the dart is pretty good, however the tip seems to b glued onto the body in a way that could lead to falling off after time. (more…)

It’s about time we finally give some face time to the other brands that make contributions to fun with dart blasters.  There are some pretty cool things out there that aren’t made by Nerf, and sometimes they get forgotten.  We here at AFoN enjoy dart blasters of all brands, and here’s one of my recent favorites; the Briefcase Blaster from Jakks Pacific’s Spy Net line.

I’ve always liked the concept of a briefcase machine gun, and this is about as close as I’ve ever seen in toy form.  In briefcase mode, all of the blaster bits are hidden save for the priming handle.  It looks pretty cool, albeit a little small in scale for an adult.  The handle is large enough for adult hands and overall the briefcase has good weight.

Now let’s talk about ammo.  The Briefcase Blaster comes with a 6 round clip and uses darts that are almost exactly the same as Nerf’s Streamline or Clip System darts.  Though the clip itself is made out of a slightly thinner plastic than Nerf’s clips, it is still sturdy.  It uses a stronger spring, which holds the darts firmly but does compress them over time. (more…)