Sunday, June 15, 2014

"Ted Nugent Called, He Wants His Blasters Back ;)"

No you are not in the 80's or the 60's for that matter. Take a look at Mattels New Blaster Lineup for the Summer of 2014.  In particular, this blaster seems to be the big talk of the lineup.




I think they are ugly, but some people dig the looks for is "Cosplay evil villain looks" and with their most expensive blaster being...

*Air powered.
*Selective Fire (semi or full auto, switchable)
*Store replaceable magazines unlike the AS-10 Magstrike which was a major drag!
*Darts with Grooves that possibly can take 9/16ths O rings, (time to make a 9/16th bore Ultra Match).

It could outdo the Magstrike and maybe even...I dare say it...A Rapidstrike!

But it all depends, there are many things to consider.

A new dart system:

Do you really want to switch darts? It was hard enough for me to switch to Stefans, and I am still not quite there for my main battle blasters myself.  Since it is full auto, you better have at least 300 darts and 5 magazines to use it as a primary.  Also if nobody else is using it, picking up darts in battle is hard and if it is not a common battle platform, could be tough.

Construction:

How tough are they?  For example if the Retaliators were not tough, I could have never gotten a 14 Kg spring in the blaster, or 21 Kg's in a Star Shot may be even a better example.  These look a little weak and remember, these are the first Mattel is making, first of anything always has the most problems.

Modability:

What is the tank on this thing?  big? small? solid? could I just plug the overpressure regulator? does it even have one? and where is it, the pump? the tank?  Can I get it up to 100 flat in Full auto?

Do you just have to have it?:

Congrats, most people like you end up in rehab or hoarding something dumb like collecting vintage tampons.

Can the clipfire be Ultra Matched to achieve "Magnum Force?:


Possible, all depends on the plunger rod material, plunger head and trigger catch.  I like that it can fold and be concealed (My mom just notions to me, "Crap, trouble at Knotts Berry Farm, please not again Chris!")

See You In Disneyland.

--Cartaya

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Coming Soon To Kickstarter, The Ultra Match Mod Kit.

The Ultra Match Series, powerful, accurate, expensive to make, difficult to build, this wiki points out just how difficult, and the one shown is not even a ZDS version.


And this...

That does this...



This blaster should be an entry level stefan blaster to get people into better performing blasters, capable of being bought Turnkey minus for $40 and above.  If I had a practical way to offer this as injected molded parts with control of the materials used, It can be done.  Right now they are hand built, hand machined modded blasters that even the springs because I am not buying them in bulk cost $22.50 on an 18 Kg Pink Crush alone.

They are a work of art, but even if I had 100 orders, they just ain't doing me, my customers and myself justice trying to do it this way.

So I will seek the advice of the manufactures I know and find a way to start a startup company to build and sell these.

Current prices:

Ultra Match ZDS Firestrike 18Kg: $99, Pink Crush Version: $89
Bird of Prey: $119, with scope: $149

Compared to what is possible:

Ultra Match Firestrike 18 Kg's Kit: $30
Star Shot Ultra Match Kit: $40
And maybe even cheaper, to achieve...Magnum Force!

--Cartaya


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

The Slingfire.

What can we do with the Slingfire?  First and foremost argument is that...."It's geared, oh no!"  yes it is geared and according to Awesomely Nerf's excellent photo's the weak spot is here...


Himm..a touque limiter assembly?  Why the hell do we need that?  Oh wait? to limit the weight springs we use on modding our blasters, no thanks.   The Grey plastic, that is what we need to know about, is it weak ABS or maybe stronger like  HDPE?  if it's HDPE or High Density Polyethylene or even better Delrin, we could be looking at as much as 12 Kg's of modding potential.  My guess is that it is the plastic they use one the Firestrike grips, and that stuff is decently strong.

I think stronger and why?  This pic says it all.  

Notice the weaker ABS bolt sled, obviously they needed a stronger plastic for the gearing, I guessing you fix the Torque limiter problem, you are in business.

Now the rest of it, mod it like an SV Retaliator and you are in luck, maybe I can even put an Xplorer kit in it or my very own version of the Orange Mod works Stage 1+2+3 kit.  A friend of mine Trix1204  Thought that it looks complicated, nahh it ain't that bad, a Stampede is much more a mess and I wouldn't lose the rear grip.  It is however nice it is modular.



Final Verdict:  

Modability: 8.4 
Better than an EAT but not as good as a Retaliator (9.1) or a Old Longshot (9.8)  depending highly on the durability of the grey plastic and the need of that torque limited. 

Rate of fire: 9

It's a lever gun, duh.  I predict nice reloading built for better sustained fire than a Rapidstrike and more stable than a Rampage.

Size: 7

This I give a lower score because the stock removal does not keep the grip by default, the blaster is too big to be a pistol, too small to be a rifle.  It's meant to be a carbine only really, sawing off the rear stock would serve nothing but a personal preference.  I see no use to minimizing it and quite frankly, I think it would look dumb if you did.

I say buy it when it comes out.

I'll see you in Disneyland.


--Cartaya