MEGA Redemption, MEGA Magnus Makes Us Reconsider

Fun times, warriors. We took a moment in all of the other NERF news that has been coming out to get out our thoughts on the new NERF N-Strike Elite MEGA Magnus.

The Magnus may have saved the hope for the MEGA line in my opinion. Now there is a viable option for a sidearm that makes the MEGA darts worthwhile. As we said in the unboxing blog, the Magnus comes off like the desert eagle of NERF. The intimidation factor alone may be a reason for some warriors to pick it up and use it. The MEGA Centurion just didn't cut it. You can check out that blog here if you'd like to see more about it.

We know that the MEGA Thunderbow has been making the rounds at the Toy Fairs too since we told you about it being announced in January. Foam From Above got a hands-on look at it during the New York toy fair too!

Well warriors, are you sold on the MEGA line or are you still waiting for that one blaster that you like? ~Chris

Drone Squad RC Car - The next Foam Drone Review

If you've been following, warriors, you know that I've been testing out different "foam drones" ahead of the Toy Fair this year. This was in anticipation of what you may have heard about: The NERF Combat Creature Attacknid. You can check out the small blog about that here and soon I'll get to an Attacknid write-up and review too. For now, check out the New Bright RC Drone Squad car that I grabbed from Amazon:

BREAKING! - NERF TekStrike, New Tech for Nerf Blasters!

Exciting tech news from the Toy Fair floor, warriors! EyeSpy Toys just gave us a direct heads up on a new product line called Nerf TekStrike. Programmable Smart Darts, hit recognition tech and Bluetooth connectivity. Well, it looks like NERF is taking the next step in wireless play!

This is the "TekStrike Storm Shield" which attaches as an accessory to any NERF tactical rail. With the use of Bluetooth and RFID tech, the Smart Darts are tracked all across the field. Apparently we will be able to assign HIT points to a shooter/player and then the Shield will track hits and damage.

I am interested to see if this technology will be as easy to use as they say. Apparently you mark darts as yours by just swiping them against your own Storm Shield and start firing. You also can use your smartphone to keep track of stats and do upgrades as you earn them. They say all of this will be free (instead of purchasing upgrades like with Tek Recon).

NEW NERF Attacknid VS Stealth Stryder

It's interesting to see Combat Creatures and Nerf come together like this. Foam From Above and others saw a NERF version of the Attacknid at the NERF booth at the New York Toy Fair. Thanks to Foam From Above for the coverage!

You can see that this version of the Attacknid has no armor to shoot off and you can't really see a head like on the original creations. I like what the original Attacknids have with the armor etc. I hope that NERF goes back in that direction as they develop their version for release.

Vas the Stampede from Foam From Above was told that everything is rather preliminary on the product, so we'll probably still be seeing some changes as they go. Even the box art was a concept that they put out to tease us. A $79.99 price was being quoted by some reps to bloggers. We should be seeing these in the Fall.

Unless NERF convinces Combat Creatures to disappear from Target and Amazon.com, I'm afraid they'll have a hard run for their money at that $79.99 price. The Attacknid Doom Razor with Snypa dart launcher is down to 50 dollars in local Target stores and the version with a disc blaster is 50 bucks on Amazon.

Even better, Combat Creatures just announced the release of their newest Attacknid, the Stealth Stryder. This one can be operated by an app on your smart phone! It started out on Amazon for 70 bucks.

With these options available, I don't think I'd be inclined to drop more money just for the NERF name on the product. Again, they said things would be changing, so perhaps we'll see something even better by this Fall.

So we have foam drones with tracks, wheels and legs -even some that fire from the air (though not foam). We'll have to pull off some head-to-head reviews as we go to see how these will stand up against each other. So far, it looks like it will be a Combat Creatures Attacknid versus the VMD Cannon Commando! ~Chris

NERF Successes Shared at Hasbro Investor Meeting

Hey warriors, I was able to take a few minutes this morning to look over the information from Hasbro's Investor Update they publicized ahead of the New York Toy Fair. Again, anyone claiming exclusive on this is being dishonest or is very misinformed. Our take on this may be exclusive, but the information is and has been readily available online!

Unfortunately, There are no new goodies that we can share with you after perusing the material. It seems that all of the blasters for the fair have been "leaked" by the company itself ahead of the big day(s). 

Yes, there is another angle on the previously revealed Demolisher. You can see the vent on the front of the launching post for the missile. Strangely, Brian Chapman (Senior Vice President over Global Design & Development) called this projectile, what he calls "the Thumper", the largest one done in Nerf. I really don't think it's any bigger -or even quite as large as the Titan rocket. Maybe they forgot about that one.

(More on new Rebelle products and Nerf's success after the jump)

NEW Tek Recon - The Predator Unleashed for 2014

It's here, warriors! Tech4Kids has announced a new Tek Recon blaster that will be seen at the Toy Fair in New York. Meet The Tek Recon Predator. It was announced on facebook at 9 eastern today. Make sure not to get fooled by anyone claiming to have an exclusive on this! Tek Recon put it out there directly for YOU to see. Props to them for that!

The Predator boasts 100'+ ranges. This is cool. They are certainly working to stay in competition with other re-usable blaster makers (such as Nerf and Zing). The 100-round magazine is the largest capacity that I know of right now. I am hoping they include a full set of ammo in the box this year!

Another new touch is their specialty ammo they've been talking about. They say that there will be other colors of NRG rounds that are for things like Long shots and Soft shots.

All the accessories do make one drool a little bit too. Instead of announcing a bunch of blasters at once, they are focusing on one product with an awesome amount of bells and whistles! They are definitely in the running for one of the most tacticool blasters we've seen this year!

Foam Assault - NERF in the News

Well Warriors, I guess you'd better be careful who you toy with. Apparently some cops will charge you with assault for firing a foam dart at someone. Also, KMOV reported this as an attack. Technically it is, but come on! You don't have to say dumb things just because the local law enforcement folks did. In my day job, I am an assignment editor for a local news station. I would go find the couple to react to the ridiculous charges or even a worker or manager from the store to tell you why they want to press charges.

New Tek Recon Blaster?

So, Tek Recon says they'll unveil a new blaster just ahead of the Toy Fair in New York. Some are still loving on them hardcore, which is just fine if you love the product. Last years failures are in the past at this point and we'll see how Tech4Kids comes out in 2014. I am hoping that this new product will be the gateway to more fans. They have a great concept to build from!

The announcement is set to come up on the Tek Recon facebook page at 9am Friday morning. I expect that'll be Eastern time since they are lined up for the Toy Fair, but they don't specify.

Foam From Above will be at the Toy Fair and is lining up his ducks to bring us some great coverage. I personally can't wait to see his thoughts on all the new gear we're hearing about!

Shot of the Week Winner!

February 8th Winner

Randall Slinkard on facebook pulled out the win for his awesome Shot of the Week entry! I loved this one from the moment I saw it. I have to admit that the Attacknid creatures are simply awesome -even if they cheat at Chess! This one in particular is the Combat Creatures Attacknid Doom Razor. I'm interested in picking on up too!

Warriors! Remember to get your shot of the week entries in by Thursday night every week. But if we get stuck doing something else, we may include weekend entries as well. Have a great week and remember to snap your favorite foam moments on camera! ~Chris

Foam Weapon League Rises Again

Warriors! We're learning more about the plans of the up and coming internet broadcasters All Things Geek Radio to bring back foam "underground" fighting. You may remember an interview we did years ago about a group in Los Angeles area called the Foam Weapon League. If not, check them out in the video. This is part three of a 3-part interview with the original commissioner of the now defunct Foam Weapon League. Parts one and two are also available on our Youtube page.

Extreme Indoor NERF - Dart Warz

Warriors, a couple of weeks ago we got a great tip from @thelomdr on twitter. I had heard rumors of a NERF arena in Colorado, but hadn't seen the evidence for myself. Turns out that they had opened an arena (Dart Warz Centennial) up the road from our mountain division in November and have been serving up local NERF fun since then. Stanton and Randi Wilkerson were awesome enough to invite us up for a tour of their facilities.

These are some of the same people who brought the world Dart Zone Meridian in Idaho -which is incidentally in the process of a name change to Dart Warz as well. They've had two years there to perfect the process and bring it over to Colorado. Check out the exclusive video to see what they've brought to the NERF Community!

NEW! NERF Derringer? - Zombie Strike DoubleStrike

The next in the new NERF announcements has come out. This time, the folks at dartblaster.de got the scoop at the Nuremberg Toy Fair (Spielwarenmesse). Meet the latest Zombie Strike pistol to show up.

  

The similar look to a Remington-based derringer pistol is a fun novelty with this blaster. I am not sure yet whether this will fire darts out of two barrels at once or what. Maybe there's a chance that it will have a graduating trigger so that you can hold one shot? The original Remington Double Derringer (Model 95) had a bar that would alternate to act as a firing pin for the two separate chambers. I doubt that they have a moving AR system to launch the darts in the Doublestrike, but perhaps they do employ the "smart AR" system that we saw come out of the Rough Cut and the Triad.

(The official release about this blaster is at the bottom of the full article.)