BIG BAD BLUE BLASTERS

 The Blue Armory

You've seen the  Yellow Armory  and the White Armory

This time I want to show you the biggest collection of blasters that I have ever assembled and put up on the wall. These are mostly N-Strike Elite blasters, but not exclusively, however they are all blue...

The NERF N-Strike Elite series was released in 2012 and discontinuedin 2020. It is a direct successor to the popular N-Strike series. Most original releases within the series featured upgraded versions of original N-Strike blasters. Like the N-Strike series before it, the N-Strike Elite series focuses on tactical blasters, that can be customized with various interchangeable accessories such as scopes/sights, shoulder stocks, and barrel extensions.  This system is used in the other series such as MODULUS, Zombie Strike, and Elite 2.0  as well. 

Most N-Strike Elite blasters feature a distinct color scheme: blue, white, black, gray, and orange. These blasters make up the bulk of the Blue Armory.  Some Elite blasters have  been released in an orange and black color scheme, such as the POCKETSTRIKE, the DEMOLISHER 2-In-1 and others. In the case of the DEMOLISHER 2-In-1, I put together my own blue version. 

Custom Blue DEMOLISHER 2-In-1 

The DEMOLISHER is a flywheel powered, semi-automatic. It also fires NERF Elite missiles via the integrated, under barrel missile launcher. You can read the entire Blue DEMOLISHER post here DEMOLISHER BLUES

Nerf Elite blasters are advertised to feature ranges of seventy-five feet to ninety feet, compared to the original N-Strike's advertised thirty-five foot stock range. This is  due to direct plunger, and flywheel firing systems.  

Big Guns-

While  my YellowArmory has a STAMPEDE ECS and a VULCAN EBF-25 and my White Armory has an XD white RHINO-FIRE, the Blue Armory has an Elite blue RHINO-FIRE. The RHINO-FIRE featuring its twin 25 dart drum magazines and recoilling barrels. 

NERF N-Strike Elite RHINO-FIRE 

Perhaps more tactiCOOL than practical, the RHINO-FIRE can be carried on a sling, however the spade handle and button style trigger combined with the weight of 6 "D" batteries make it a cumbersome load. 

The mighty TITAN CS-50 has an inverted handle with the acceleration trigger and firing trigger on it. The firing trigger has a cover that must be flipped up in order to access it. It also has an adjustable carry handle, to help with aiming and carrying. 

NERF N-Strike Elite TITAN CS-50 

The TITAN features a mini-gun style rotating barrel and massive 50-dart drum magazine. It fires darts through the air at an average of nearly 70 fps, at a rate of about 3 darts persecond.  (Click here to read more about the TITAN). 

Then there is the Dart Zone PUNISHER Gatling Blaster from 2009. Not a NERF blaster, but also  a mini-gun style blaster. Its power switch is located under the blaster, in the butt of the grip. When the switch is turned on,  the flywheels run continuously. The PUNISHER has a carry handle. It is fed by a 30 dart belt and its rate of fire is a little slow at under 2 darts per second. 

Dart Zone  PUNISHER 

See more of the PUNISHER here. The PUNISHER

Combined these 3 blasters can lay down about 130 darts in just a few seconds. 

 Smaller  Autos- The classic RAPIDSTRIKE CS-18 and HYPERFIRE.  Smaller than the "Big Guns", these flywheel powered, N-Strike Elite primary blasters, are both fully automatic.

HYPERFIRE and RAPIDSTRIKE 

The RAPIIDSTRIKE is traditionally used with 18-dart clips, and fires about 3.2 darts per second. The HYPERFIRE comes with a 25 dart drum magazine and boasts a 5 dart per second rate of fire. 

There is also the INFINUS. This full auto comes with a 30- dart drum, and performs similar to the RAPIDSTRIKE. 

NERF INFINUS 

The INFINUS features "Speed-load Technology" which allows a dart to be fed through the back of the blaster and back into the loaded clip or drum. The blaster also features a light-up status indicator, that indicates whether the blaster is ready to fire, ready to be reloaded, is fully loaded, or if it has jammed. 

Semi-autos- Besides the missile launching DEMOLISHER 2-In-1, there is the STRYFE, a classic favorite of NERFERS for over a decade. There is also the HAIL-FIRE. Although only semi-automatic, loaded with eight 18 dart mags it can fire a massive 144 shots before reloading.

 The STOCKADE was released in 2012 for about 20 bucks. It is a semi-automatic flywheel blaster with a ten dart rotating cylinder. The detachable shoulder stock is comfortable and sturdy. 

NERF N-Strike Elite STOCKADE 

In addition it can hold an additional ten darts and of course is interchangeable with other NERF Elite blasters. The shoulder stock is really the best feature. The STOCKADE does not have a rev trigger, instead it has a power switch.  The power switch is located on the left side of the blaster, under the 3 "AA" battery compartment.

Spring Powered Primaries- This category includes some of NERF's most iconic blasters. The RETALIATOR, Elite ALPHA TROOPER, and RAMPAGE have all been popular with NERFERS for years. 

NERF Elite RETALIATOR, RAMPAGE,  and ALPHA TROOPER 

These blasters were used as the platforms for modified, high performance blasters before the widespread popularity of 3-D printers. The great thing about a spring powered blaster is that it never needs new batteries. There is also no noise from flywheel motors winding up.  

A couple other clip fed springers in the collection are the DELTA TROOPER and the RECON CQ-12 (aka RECON MKII). Released in 2018 and 2019, both are top slide primed, like the RECON and RETALIATOR, and both came with  a 12 dart clip.

NERF Elite DELTA TROOPER and  RECON CQ-12 

 They also both have barrel and shoulder stock attachment points, although the DELTA TROOPER base blaster oddly lacks any tactical rails. The DELTA TROOPER is also advertised to get ranges of up to 90 feet (25m).

One of my oldest and personal favorites, the N-Strike LONGSTRIKE CS-6. This bolt action blaster is famous or infamous for many things...

NERF N-Strike LONGSTRIKE 

Mine is a perfect specimen with all original parts, sight,  sling, and even the instruction sheet. 

With no clips to deal with,  the Elite SPECTRE REV-5 and SURGEFIRE feature revolving fixed magazines. The SPECTRE is a direct plunger remake of the N-Strike SPECTRE REV-5. With its detachable folding shoulder stock, and detachable barrel, the SPECTRE is stylish and has a single tactical rail atop the blaster, as well as three strap points: tactiCool but it is limited by a 5 dart  capacity. (See more SPECTRE REV-5 here)

NERF Elite SPECTRE REV-5 and SURGEFIRE 

The SURGEFIRE features a 15 dart drum and Slam-fire capability, making it a more formidable primary blaster than the SPECTRE. The SURGEFIRE also features a single tactical rail atop the blaster, as well as three sling/strap attachment points. The SURGEFIRE advertises ranges of up to 90 feet as well. 

Shotguns- Sometimes you need to fire multiple darts simultaneously.  Whether it is to breech a lock, or to neutralize armor or shields in game play, or just because it's fun. The NERF ROUGHCUT  2x4 and TRILOGY DS-15 will both accomplish this. The ROUGHCUT is an eight shot, pump-action, pistol grip blaster. The ROUGHCUT will fire a single dart, by pulling the trigger halfway back, or two darts at the same time, by pulling the trigger all the way back. It also features Slam-fire. The ROUGHCUT 2x4 has been one of NERF's most popular blasters and has been re-released at least four times over the years. 

NERF Elite TRILOGY DS-15 and Elite ROUGHCUT 2x4 

The TRILOGY DS-15 is a shell-fed, pump-action blaster. It fires 3 Elite darts at once. Shells are loaded into the blaster through a top porthole, which opens when the blaster is half-primed. Spent shells will eject out of the right side of the blaster. Five additional shells can be stored in the integrated shoulder stock. In addition my TRILOGY is equipped with an upgrade kit that comes with a 3 shell storage accessory that attaches to the tactical rail, giving this blaster storage for 8 shells.

Pistols- Every good NERF load-out has to include a backup blaster or two. This is usually a smaller blaster like a pistol. There are six in the Blue Armory. 

The JOLT EX-1, the TRIAD EX-3, and the FIRESTRIKE are all muzzle loaded blasters that operates with an external priming mechanism.  

JOLT EX-1,  TRIAD EX-3,  and FIRESTRIKE 

The JOLT is a pocket sized single shot, and has been re-released many times, with many color schemes. The TRIAD is almost twice the size of the JOLT but still relatively small. It can hold 3 darts in its three triangularly-placed barrels. It features the use of intelligent air restrictors, allowing a single dart to fire out of either of the three barrels. 

A little larger, the FIRESTRIKE has two triggers  the top is the firing trigger, while the bottom trigger is to powers the integrated red light cross hair. It advertises a 75 foot  (23m) range, and can be modified for even better  performance. 

The NERF STRONGARM and DISRUPTOR are both slide-action, 6-dart cylinder, revolver-style blasters, similar to the MAVERICK REV-6.

NERF DISRUPTOR and STRONGARM 

The STRONGARM was released in 2013 and advertises a range of 75 feet (22m). The DISRUPTOR was released in 2017. Although very similar to the STRONGARM, the DISRUPTOR does not have a drop cylinder. It is reloaded by simply inserting darts directly into the exposed barrels. The DISRUPTOR advertises a range of 90 feet (27m).

Last but not least is the NERF Elite DUAL-STRIKE. The DUAL-STRIKE is a 6 shot, single-fire blaster that fires both Elite Darts and Mega darts. 

NERF N-Strike Elite DUAL-STRIKE 

Three Elite darts are  muzzle loaded into the top barrels, that are laid out similarly to a Triad EX-3.  Three more MEGA darts are loaded into the bottom barrels, which are vertically aligned. The DUAL-STRIKE uses an external priming mechanism, and an intelligent air restrictor (smart AR) system. Either type of dart is fired by using a selection switch on the side of the blaster. 

Stringers- These next two blasters are a little different because they are string powered blasters, or "Stringers".  A Stringer uses an elastic string, aka bungee as the component that propels the dart. First is the SLINGSTRIKE. Released in 2015 under the N-Strike series, it is a slingshot-style blaster that lacks a firing trigger.

NERF N-Strike SLINGSTRIKE 

It is operated by loading a dart,  and then pulling back and releasing the cord. The blaster features a mechanical lock that prevents the cord from being pulled back if no dart is loaded. The SLINGSTRIKE fires darts at about 65 fps, and also features storage for 2 additional darts. 

The N-Strike Elite CROSSBOLT is a clip system, string-powered, crossbow-like blaster. It comes with a 12 dart clip, and features a bullpup design, and top slide priming mechanism. The CROSSBOLT is the only NERF blaster to have two jam doors.  

NERF N-Strike Elite CROSSBOLT 

Unfortunately this very tactiCool crossbow does not accept barrel extensions or shoulder stocks. The CROSSBOLT advertises ranges of up to 90 feet (27m). The string on the CROSSBOLT can be stretched or replaced to increase its tension and boost range. 

Missile Launchers- Besides the DEMOLISHER 2-In-1, I also have the N-Strike THUNDERBLAST. Like the DEMOLISHER missile launcher,  the THUNDERBLAST fires NERF Elite missiles using a HAMP system. HAMP is an acronym for High Airflow Manual Plunger. This system relies on the user manually working the plunger to fire a projectile out of the blaster, instead of a spring to actuate the plunger. Performance depends on the strength of the user,  but ranges are advertised at up to 60 feet (18 m).

DEMOLISHER and THUNDERBLAST 

The THUNDERBLAST features an integrated shoulder stock, which has storage for two missiles built into it. It has one tactical rail on top, as well as three sling attachment points: one at the front of the blaster, and two on the stock. 

My NERF N-Strike THUNDERBLAST 

I have replaced the plunger O-ring on my THUNDERBLAST.  This has made a better seal, thus increasing range. It has also made the blaster a little harder to pump, and also  to get stuck occasionally, especially when the blaster has not been used for a while.

Other Stuff- In addition to the 28 blasters in the Blue Armory, there are also a set of swords. Made from the finest Tamahagane foam, these matching pair of Katana-style  blades are feather-light, lightning fast, and razor sharp 😅 (ha ha).

Adventure Force Swords 

Measuring 25 and a half inchs long (65 cm) these swords make a great addition to just about any load-out. Whether you are engaged in melee combat,  deflecting incoming projectiles, or you just absolutely feel the need to go totally "Deadpool" on someone... you just can't beat these swords.

Deadpool 

 I originally picked them up, a few years ago, at Wallly-Mart . They were about 4 bucks each, and were sold under the Adventure Force label.

I'll conclude this tour of the Blue Armory with a very special item.  Big and blue, and coming for you... it's the  NERF N-Strike Elite TERRASCOUT. The TERRASCOUT is an all-terrain RC drone. It was released in 2016 for a whopping 200 US dollars. 

NERF N-Strike Elite TERRASCOUT 

It comes equipped with tank-like treads, fully automatic blaster, and a 720p video camera which can be viewed through an integrated LCD screen on the  remote. In addition to the LCD screen,  the remote control has forward/reverse and left/right sticks, blaster elevation switch, firing trigger, channel selector, record button, status light, and on/off button. 

TERRASCOUT control

The TERRASCOUT also features four switchable channels, allowing for multiple TERRASCOUTs  to work at the same time. I have also equipped my TERRASCOUT with a 25 dart drum magazine and a couple of lights for night operation.  You can read more about the TERRASCOUT here   TERRASCOUT Review

Well there you have it, the Blue Armory. Although the N-Strike Elite series has been discontinued, there are still a couple of blasters I would like to add to the Blue Armory.  There is also room for more modified,  customized, and repainted blasters. I'll be sure to keep you updated on any additions, so until next time...

                                                           NERF on NERFerS!!!