Sighting Report - NERF Rebelle Secrets and Spies

The products that we've been awaiting from the Rebelle Secrets and Spies line have hit the shelves! No sign of the Rapid Red, but everything else seems to be there -at least at the Toys R Us in Colorado Springs.

Of the most interest may be the Agent Bow. It's NERF's first real foray into the world of actual bow-fired arrows. Sure, they've had things with the word "bow" in the name. However, this one seems to be the first direct competition to the Zing bows from NERF.

It claims 85 feet for the Range. That's shy of the 100 foot MEGA distances. I wonder how they will fair with this completely new-to-Nerf projectile! BTW, you'll drop 30-bucks plus tax on it.

Strangely, it is not on ToysRUs.com or the Rebelle website. Well . . . none of the new Secrets and Spies blasters have popped up on the official website.

The Spylight does look like a Strongarm with a flashlight attachment as expected. I left this one on the shelf, but I can see the appeal for some. I think I may stick with the Firestike if I want a light and the Hammershot if I want a revolver.

It lists at $19.99 - so you're spending another 7 bucks over the Strongarm for the flashlight and the Messenger darts.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the Diamondista. It's modeled after a crossbow like blasters across the NERF branding.

At $9.99, this is the most basic blaster in price and size in the Secrets and Spies releases. The original description NERF sent describes this as a blaster for missions that require elegance.

We did grab one of these too, so some more info will be on the way.

I don't know what happened to my picture of the Messenger blaster, but you can see it to the left in this shot of the Knock Out Gallery. All of the Secrets and Spies blasters come with the tech to "decode" messages from this one. It's S14.99 for this one. Obviously, you seem to be paying for the new "secret messaging" tech here.

As for the Knock Out Gallery, it's a basic target-shooting blaster. Meet the Jolt, Rebelle version. When I was in store, they had a deal running where you could buy the Knock Out Gallery and get a 12-pack refill of Rebelle darts for free.  Turns out they are running a promotion online where you can get the free 12-pack with ANY Rebelle blaster that costs $9.99 or more. Note that its the regular dart refill pack and not the Secrets and Spies version.

Target was running a similar deal today in Colorado Springs where you could get a free 12-pack of elite darts with any qualifying N-Strike, MEGA or Vortex purchase.

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 Blaster! - Rebelle Agent Bow

The props go UK Nerf for this info. I just had to pass it along because it's super-interesting.

This new bow looks like it may blow any of the other Rebelle products out of the water. As UK Nerf puts it, " . . . a bow powered bow! The foamy gods be praised!"

The description is as follows: "The Nerf Rebelle Agent bow is perfect for high-profile missions that require accuracy and skill. Release the string and watch as the first ever Nerf Rebelle foam-dart arrows soar up to 85 feet across the sky making a whistling sound! For added precision, the Agent Bow features an electronic glowing red dot that provides better aiming accuracy with every shot."

Product Placement As An Equality Argument? WTH?

Fair warning, Warriors: This is going to be a rant in response to a series of straw-man arguments that complain about gender inequality in the marketing of NERF products.

I just happened upon a tumblr blog from marzgurl about gender inequality in NERF. Actually I was directed there by the writer herself who promoted her argument on the NERF facebook page. Rather than being that increasingly stale argument about how girls don't need a new line and pink is a sexist color, this blog complains that Rebelle is a segregated line from everything else NERF and that the people marketing the product are to blame. People really should stop throwing words like equality around. Well, it worked. I linked to her blog too . . .

Did You Pick Up the Best New Sidearm Yet?

Hey Warriors! In case you missed it, there is a great new sidearm available. This is probably one of the best new releases I've seen in quite a while. The Hammershot has been taking the NERF community by storm recently and there are some good reasons why. Check out the double review of the NERF Zombie Strike Hammershot and NERF Rebelle Sweet Revenge.

This opens up a lot possibilities for one-handed nerfing or getting one shot off on the fly! Do you have another sidearm you like better? Why?

Feel free to comment! ~Chris

NERF Rebelle Stiletto - From the Rumor Mill

Did you know that the Sweet Revenge might have had a different name? I found a label on the Toys R Us shelf calling it the Rebelle Stiletto. It looks to be the right stock number and everything for the Sweet Revenge Kit. There are also some listings referring to it as the Stiletto on-line.

While NERF say they never named the blster that way, the idea sent me off on a whole tangent. So here it is:

It's probably a good thing that they changed the naming, for two reasons in my opinion.

If you thought the feminists and anti-pink movement were angry about Rebelle now, imagine what they would have to say about a blaster name that glorifies a woman's shoe as a power symbol. Do you know how angry some of them get if they imagine you only think of them as powerful when they wear shoes the accentuate their butt? That's really a weak argument, but it totally happens.

Sweet Revenge- Five bucks goes a long way...

I'm sure by now you've seen and heard all about the new NERF Zombie Strike Hammershot and the Rebelle Sweet Revenge, right? Yeah, me too. But that doesn't stop me from talking about them!

The Hammershot and Sweet Revenge are really just the same blaster in two comparable shells. The Sweet Revenge is smaller, possibly to specifically cater to the awesome holster they designed for it. Otherwise, these are pretty much the same blaster.

The joy of this system is that you can now fire a NERF sidearm completely one-handed. This is the first NERF pistol to mimic a single-action revolver like those made famous in the Wild West. The hammer can be cocked back with the thumb of the same hand you will fire with. This means a plethora of options has opened up. You don't necessarily need to drop your primary blaster to wield a sidearm anymore. You can dual-wield a blaster without the vacuum-like noise of a flywheel system. You can also make your weapon "safe" as a one-handed instead of firing it, should you change your mind.

Sadly the Sweet Revenge gets a much better set-up than the Hammershot. You can get the Hammershot exclusively at Target in the US for $14.99. You can get the Sweet Revenge Kit pretty much anywhere for $19.99. Why is it a better value to spend five more dollars? Stylin' eye protection and that holster. I personally think that the Hammershot by itself is worth the $14.99 price tag. You could look at it like Sweet Revenge accessories are just $2.50 a piece. Or you could break it down to about $6.67 a piece between the blaster, the eye-wear and the holster. It does make me wonder why the Hammershot hits that $14.99 mark, but I figure that they were making a break on the Sweet Revenge (since it's part of a new line) rather than marking up the Hammershot.

I'm still not sure which blaster I like better. I was getting used to the size of the Hammershot. Then I put the Sweet Revenge in my hands. I personally don't need to use the holster with my current load-out, but the grip may actually be better for comfort. I'll decide on that before the upcoming review.

Closer Look at Fall Releases

In case you missed our recent NERF videos, we have some closer looks at a couple of the Fall releases up now.

The Rapidstrike is certainly going to be the flagship blaster for this season of releases. It seems to take some of the best things from the Elite line and the N-Strike Stampede along with it's new qualities to make a formidable assault blaster.

The NERF Rebelle line actually holds a lot more promise than I expected. I am especially interested in the crossbow. We're not completely sure what to think of the drawstring on the Heartbreaker. It seems like that will be the easiest component to break that we've seen out of NERF in a while. But hey, it held up for dozens of people at the Summer Bash press party, so we'll hold off judgment for now.

 

So -Which fall blasters are you most excited for? ~Chris