TOY FAIR REPORT: Even More New Blasters Announced

This post will update with images and thoughts throughout the week.

Now for a couple of Nerf things we didn't really hear about during the Toy Fair 2018 coverage and a few things we just have more on.

The one I didn't hear a peep on or see anything on for sure was the Nerf Doomlands Holdout. The pic comes from our friends at Nerf and the description comes from their Hasbro Product Page.

NERF DOOMLANDS HOLDOUTIn a post-apocalyptic future, the Earth is left a barren, lawless wasteland. Out of the ashes, a lone hero emerges to bring justice to a doomed land. This is the world of Doomlands! Scope out some action with the Holdout blaster, which has a removable targeting scope that slides onto a tactical rail. Load a dart into this single-shot blaster, pull back the handle, and pull the trigger to fire. Includes 2 Elite darts that can be stored on the scope.• Includes 2 blasters and 2 darts.• Single-shot blaster• Detachable scope• Includes 2 Elite Doomlands darts• Transparent area reveals inner firing mechanism• Ages 8 and up

NERF Doomlands 2169 Officially Confirmed!

Official word came down, warriors. The future is now: NERF DOOMLANDS 2169, FALL 2015.

They describe this line as having sci-fi steam-punk designs with visible firing mechanisms. From everything in the product descriptions, it seems that they are actually intending this to be more of a cyberpunk affiliation with a wild west flair. In fact, the folks over at gizmodo call this a mix of Mad Max, Star Wars, and Firefly. Firefly has been in my head, but Borderlands comes up on its heals too. 

I also find it interesting that Nerf's second theme-based line is placed in a post-apocalyptic setting line like Zombie Strike is. They describe the Doomlands this way: "The post-apocalyptic wasteland once known as earth is filled with bands of marauding thieves and all manners of creatures."

It's a Target exclusive to start with. You may remember that Zombie Strike Started out the same way with the first few in their line too.  It makes sense that the Walmart exclusive Split Strike will come out about the same time. I wonder what else Toys R Us will get? I imagine that we'll see the Doomlands line expand to other stores by at least Spring 2016.

Here's the word-for-word details with high-resolution images on the two new blaster that have been leaking out and appearing.

NERF All Access Party - Thunderbow

Warriors! I had to keep it "hush-hush" until the day of, but we have plenty of video and pics from the NERF All Access party that just happened tonight in New York.

NERF was awesome enough to invite a select group of bloggers out for yet another kickoff of some of their flagship blasters for the season.

Among the other products was the MEGA Thunderbow. Honestly, I had somewhat forgotten about it because it feels like forever since it was announced. Well, I certainly won't forget it now!



Not only am I impressed by all of the physical qualities, this blaster also has the potential to completely kick ass and take names. Just look at what we did with a few seconds of fooling around.

What trick shots are you hoping to try?

More NERF info coming out of the event soon! And don't forget the facebook contest we announced. (Hint: Look at the blog about the Google Hangout for the information!)

Breaking News - BOOMCO - Here comes the Boom?

Check out the latest information moving around the Nerf internet community. Mattel is getting into the blaster game full-force with the release of their BOOMco line of blasters this Fall (2014)! Well, some material has said Fall, some has declared Summer. Either way, we're interested.

BOOMco released their promo videos a couple of weeks ago on Youtube -giving BOOMCco their own channel, but the news is really starting to circulate today thanks to MarcusH26051 on Reddit and other bloggers like blasterlabs and Adult Fans of NERF on the trail.

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.

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 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."

Crossfire wins Best New Toy at UK fair

One of the things they do annually at the UK Toy Fair is to award the Best New Toys of the year. In the words of the fair organizers: "The Toy Fair Best New Toy Awards are voted for by a panel of independent toy retailers as the 2014 Toy Fair products with the most potential to make a mark on retail throughout the year and beyond." The Toy Fair there is put on by the British Toy and Hobby Association.

The NERF Zombie Strike Crossfire is one of 39 toys to win the honors. I would suppose that it's due to the iconic reenactments that it will enable kids to do. After all, crossbows were a favorite for many now-teenagers as they cut their teeth on COD: Black Ops and perhaps are watching Walking Dead.

From the initial tests we've done, this won't be the best performing blaster of 2014. However, as they note above, this award is about making a mark on retail throughout the year. The Crossfire is a likely blaster to do that for the general population.

Can you think of any other new or newly announced blasters you would have awarded Best New Toy to?

Blaster Reveal on Monday!

Warriors! NERF gave a few of the bloggers in the community a heads up that we will be hearing about and getting a sneak peak of a new 2014 blaster just ahead of the toy fairs that start later this month!


Monday morning, just after 9 AM mountain time, we will be bringing you some new details on what's in store for the NERF Nation in the near future. Others in our list of favorite bloggers will be getting the low-down as well. You can look for their blogs in our sidebar at the bottom!

(Check on some theories after the jump!)

Super Soaker 2014 Already Coming Out!

Warriors, It was less than 16 degrees in Colorado Springs when I walked into the NERF section at one of the local Walmarts and made a discovery. They already have a couple of the new Super Soaker blasters on the shelves from the 2014 line! At first, I was thinking that they must be crazy. However, it is nice to get an early look at these blasters to see what I want to use for the next season of water wars! Strange to see the Super Soaker clip system going away, though.

The Hydrostorm is an electronic water blaster that holds 25 ounces in an internal tank. You can see where the batteries will go in the front of the blaster. I know that some of the younger warriors in out last water war were having issue with anything that carried more than 25 ounces, so this may be a good thing for them. You can hit your target up to 30-feet away with this one. I wonder if the stream is any larger than electronic water blasters in recent years? After last year's tacticool releases, this design seems a little clunky to me. That doesn't necessarily matter too much when it comes to effectiveness of the blaster, though.  You can grab this at Walmart for about 20 dollars.

Sighting Reports - Newest Zombie Strike on Store Shelves

Well, it took a while, but we finally see the Crossfire and Fusefire in stock at Walmarts in both Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. So, if you haven't seen these in you're area yet, they're probably close. We've been waiting to get our hands on both of these NERF Zombie Strike blasters. You're looking at about 20 bucks for each of these systems. Not too bad.

You may recall that the Fusefire is a Vortex inspired Zombie Strike Blaster. It incorporates firefly technology for glow-in-the-dark discs. This blaster also seems to have a similar loading mechanism to the NERF Vortex Proton. The extra storage space on the front can't hurt either. I am looking forward to trying this one out.

Now the Crossfire crossbow is a bit of an interesting one. NERF claimed that it was the first crossbow for NERF. Rebelle already came out with their crossbow, but Hasbro has separated NERF Rebelle from the rest of the NERF lines. They choose to market the lines uniquely, so they still feel that this can be called the first crossbow. I excited to throw on my favorite stock attachment to the back of this blaster and get to work. Maybe a little Van Helsing action to come? ~Chris

NERF in the News!

I just happened across two examples of NERF in pop culture and news last night and had to share. It's not uncommon to see these products show up in skits and sketches and the such, but it is fun to see!

First, I was in the newsroom at work and looked up to see a NERF Retaliator show up in one of the news stories. This one is about a town giving people licenses to shoot down government drones. Deer Trail, Colorado has been making the news a lot because of it. I'm not sure why he had a NERF blaster when there were plenty of real guns around, but it was cute and all. KDVR in Denver has a story about it. I'll let you make your own judgement on the actual story, but I thought it was funny that this guy was using a blaster to get his point across.

(More NERF in the news after the jump.)

Price Drop on Rapidstrike - Get 'em while they're hot!

A quick heads up, Warriors! As I was looking for new product in local stores, I came upon a better price for the NERF Rapidstrike. The MSRP is at $39.99, but the price is currently lower than that!

 


Even those crooks at Toys R Us got in on the action, lowering their price to $34.99. But, of course, the best deal I found in the Colorado Springs are was at Wally World. $29.88 sings for this blaster. As promised, the Rapidstrike review is in our line-up for the near future. We aren't experiencing jamming or rate of fire issues that some of the other bloggers seem to be talking about. This should be a great assaulter or defender piece if you use it right. More to come on that.

So now you can go spend $30 instead of $40, or spend $40 to get even more NERF! ~Chris

Mega Centurion - Mega Sad?

Warriors!

Another review up for you. It's very rare that we have to give NERF bad marks on a blaster, but that time has come. This is a great show-off piece, but not really something to use effectively on the battlefield -at least not stock.

Plenty of modders have mentioned that they like the Centurion for the amount of space and possibilities, but are you really going to want to drop 50 bucks on this for just the shell? What other ideas do you have for this one?

Let me know what you think!
~Chris

New Sighting Reports - Walmart, Los Angeles Area

Coop has been busy perusing the shelves in Los Angeles, warriors! He turned up several sightings at a local Walmart there. Just some pic spam of the most notable:

The NERF Cyber Hoop has arrived in LA Walmarts. We're hearing a lot of good reports on this things from readers like you. Sounds like they are a hit at sleepovers and daytime get-togethers alike!

Another Xploders blaster on the shelves. This Xploderz Sneak Attack is designed to let you shoot around corners. It also lets you choose one, two or three rounds at a time. We haven't met an Xploderz blaster we like yet, so maybe this will break the mold?

It's the NERF Mission App Cradle. We'll be testing this thing out soon and looking at how it enhances your game play versus the Tek Recon app and on-line game.

In other news, our Tek Recon kickstarter reward just arrived at the office today. More to come on that! ~Chris

The Centurion Arrives! - NERF N-Strike Elite MEGA Centurion Un-boxed

Warriors!

I've got a treat for you: The first actual comprehensive video of a MEGA Centurion un-boxing! Some of us in the blogging community are lucky enough to get a first look at these babies before they hit shelves. Speaking of which, check out Foam From Above's pic spam on the blaster. Glad to try this thing out on video! Check out the noise from it!! We even changed the opening logo sound effect this time in honor of it.

Well, What do you think guys? Any first impressions? Any questions burning in your mind. I'll have a unique opportunity to directly ask some of those questions for you in the next little while. ~Chris

Tek Recon Power-Ups: Foam/Rubber Drone Attack?

At last check, the Tek Recon kickstarter was funded up to around 27% - make that 28% and still has 25 days to go!

Tek Recon got back to us today regarding that hanging question about their apps. Doesn't sound like they are expecting contributors right now, but we did learn more about the power ups! Foam/rubber drone attack anyone? Not really, but on the screen! LOL!

Q: They talked about power-ups in the video. Will those be something you can program and print for scanning or that they want you to buy? Will they allow other developers to design and contribute scannable QR codes et cetera?

"A:POWERUPS WILL BE INCLUDED WITHIN OUR "ARMORY".  HERE YOU CAN SELECT WHICH BLASTER YOU'RE USING (WHICH ALTERS THE AMMO COUNTER), SCOPE, BLASTER SOUND EFFECT FOR FIRING, AND POWERUP.  YOU CAN USE 1 POWERUP PER GAME AND THERE WILL BE MANY POWERUPS AVAILABLE!  HERE'S Are A FEW…..BUT I CAN'T REVEAL THEM ALL :)

–Invisibility: Turn this on and you won’t show up on radar for 45 seconds

–Drone Attack: While an opponent shows up on radar, if you enable this powerup and click on their blip before it disappears it sends a drone attack and removes them from the game.  Click too late and the drone misses.

–Wire Tap: Enable this powerup and open up communication with the opposing team.  Can talk to them and hear their messages for 1 minute.

                   -Disable Flag: disables anyone from scanning your flag for 20 seconds"

A few people have already been asking if I think this will mimic COD: Black Ops perks. I don't think you'll be seeing things like "flak jacket" and "hardened" manifest in the game. "Ghost" (or Invisibility) is doable because you could just be taken off the HUD -in this case for 45 seconds.

Here is some of the earlier information we learned about the app. Be sure to visit the Tek Recon kickstarter to learn more and to contribute!

• Create your own Profile by selecting a Username and Avatar. 
• Armory to control and create game loadouts, including your blaster, scope, sound effect, and in-game powerups. 
• Familiar multiplayer game modes including Isolation (every man for himself), Team Supremacy (team battle), and Capture the Flag (with flags you scan when captured). 
• Radar which reveals teammates, as well as opponents.
• In game features such as live chat, on screen ammo counter, simple swipe vision modes (Classic, Night Vision, Heat Seeker, X Ray), quick tap zoom + many more. 

A couple of more new tidbits on the way today! Check in later. ~Chris

Zing Toys working on Glow-In-The-Dark bow?

Hey Warriors!

So in case you missed it, Zing Toys is doing a facebook giveaway. You can qualify until Friday.

When they posted it, I asked about the graphic. It looks like the bow is glow-in-the-dark by the way the graphic is designed. That isn't the case, but Zing gave a hint that it may be in the works!

What do you think about using a bow and arrows in an HvZ game? ~Chris

Diatron Review and Other Tidbits

Seen the latest from Coop on Click Click BAMF? Good stuff!

Also, after much pumping . . . shotgun reviews and a sniper rifle review on the way in the following weeks. Did you know that the Roughcut will advance to fire a dart in the next row if there aren't two darts on one row? Pretty awesome (see below).

More to come -obviously! ~Chris