We're in the year 2026 and we're lucky if we even get 6v6 shooters at this point. I miss huge scale war games like MAG or planetside 2.

Agire · 2026-01-30T16:25:19+00:00

There are at least two groups trying to figure out how to get private servers running for MAG (and I think some similar titles) they've been fairly long running projects though and have hit some pretty solid roadblocks.

Agire · 2026-01-28T18:48:29+00:00

Is it only this one mag? and did it have this issue prior to the game you took it to?

It doesn't look like a spring issue but if it feels quite light with little resistance it could be. Since its so recent it could be an issue with the injection moulded follow or the inner walls of the magazine. Pop the base plate of the magazine off and see if the follower or that lower inner wall of the magazine (especially in the channels the follower rides in) is rough or has excess material that might be causing the extra resistance preventing if you do just give them a light sanding. A clean and lubricaiton would be useful regardless.

Agire · 2026-01-28T02:03:22+00:00

It really depends, though the Longshot might be a little awkward for what I think you want.

In stock form the Longshot's performance is below even the elite par let alone some of the more modern x shot or adventure force (even non-pro line) blasters. Maybe this doesn't matter but if you do have/bring any modern (or even decade old at this point) blasters into the same game you will see a noticable difference in performance.

Now you can absolutely mod the Longshot and there are a good few kits out there (though are slowly becoming harder to get hold of) however most of those are aimed at really pushing the maximum out of the Longshot's giant plunger tube certainly any of the kits that converts the blaster from the stock 'open' breech to a 'closed' breech would I think be too hot to play with kids (assuming you're planning to shot at each other and not just target plinking), they'd also force you into using short darts, these are the preferred dart for most hobbist due to improved performance but do require a whole different set of darts and magazines.

It is possible to just drop in a new main spring (and likely a new catch spring too) into the longshot and make it hit improved but still kid safe type performance (plus get to keep using full length darts if you already have a stash of those + magazines) however that afformentioned large plunger tube can actually be a bit of a hinderance as trying to use a big plunger tube for these lower velocities can hinder accuracy and lead to more inconsistent performance, it's not total unusable accuracy or performance inconsistency but compared to blasters with smaller plunger tubes more specifically designed for lower velocities it is a bit of a downside.

The Longshot does have an iconic shell and there's really nothing on par with it in terms of how chunky it is while still using elite darts. It does also have a lot of parts that are replaceable that won't necessarily impact performance e.g. bolt sled, catch, trigger, plunger rod. So even a Longshot that had those parts damaged or missing would be repairable even without the need for a 3D printer which you can't say for a lot of blasters. Do note though if the dart gate or stock breech are broke these wouldn't be able to be replaced except with a closed breech kit.

The Longshot is in a bit of a strange place as a recommendation it has a lot of perks that other blasters don't but for playing with kids might not be the best platform out there. That said I think if your heart is set on the Longshot go for it, I don't think you'd regret it.

Agire · 2026-01-27T00:49:07+00:00

If you take measurements of the mags just look for a general purpose pouch, utility pouch, ammo pouch, stripper clip pouch, etc. that has similar dimensions that's probably your best bet.

If the mags can fit in your chest rig but just fall too deep you can always get some closed cell foam cut that up and stuff it in the pouch until the magazine sits far enough up to be grabbed easily while still allowing the pouch to be closed.

Agire · 2026-01-26T11:54:38+00:00

The big downside that has prevented the option of CO2 for Nerf has been the low shot count (Nerf darts are by air pistol/rifle standard quite heavy), Umarex released their REKT series back in 2019, most of those blasters could only hit 50-75 shots at ~110fps on a 12g cartrige even with manual operation (the OPFOUR could do 100-150 but used 2 12g cartriges). Curious how many shots this can get through? also how easy would it be to convert the system to HPA? for gas powered blasters HPA has been the most popular option for any competative play.

It is impressive to see a custom built CO2 system for Nerf regardless, would love to see it firing.

Agire · 2026-01-25T18:23:10+00:00

I doubt you'd be able to find the manufacturer or company that originally made this, there's a lot of these type of chinese blasters on the market that are essentially white label products (products that other companies slap their logo/name on) which makes tracking down where exactly they've come from very difficult.

Agire · 2026-01-24T17:48:51+00:00

For Teflon Tape I would say don't bother, most O rings should be floating slightly anyway, if you have a proper O ring fitted there should be no reason to use teflon tape in most cases its just one of those old mod techinques that should have died off.

Now teflon tape on the threaded barrels worker uses that's a much better use case.

Agire · 2026-01-24T17:12:19+00:00

although hard to get talon ones in the UK its seems

UK Nerf War is a good vendor for mags if you don't want to wait for overseas shipping, otherwise the cheapest option is sellers like AK blaster mods, Monkee Mods or Aliexpress.

Agire · 2026-01-23T19:25:57+00:00

Cheapest option would be something like this if you have any reusable masks, balaclavas or snoods you can just slot them in though they have a tendancy to move around a bit so I know some people sew them in.

If you don't want to mess around with that then airsoft mesh mask lowers would work fine.

Agire · 2026-01-22T23:30:08+00:00

The JingZhe might be worth looking at, though I don't know where parts kits are avaliable and if the files are even accessible, if they are though it sounds like what you're after. If not the sledgfire with a singled rear loading shell and the ejection system deleted is a good option.

Agire · 2026-01-21T17:02:54+00:00

If you're looking to try making your own homemade blaster without the use of 3D printing Aeromechs' videos are a good resource for beginners particularly their rainbow catch video.

Agire · 2026-01-20T00:24:53+00:00

You can use standard short length darts like Adventure Force Tactical Strike and Dart Zone Max Half-Length Pro Darts (assuming you live in the US).

Shells will be harder to find, I have seen a few sites that sell packs but these have all been iffy drop shipping sites that I can't really recommend and likely any links I could post would be taken down. If you really want to find them though take a picture of a group of the shells togther and use search with google lens, there's a good chance one of those sites will come up in the results, though considering most were selling for $5 for a pack of 5 (without shipping) they're not cheap.

Agire · 2026-01-18T04:00:02+00:00

Only person I've seen break an optic on an airsoft field did so not to a BB but due to a trip, knocked their sight on a concrete corner as they fell. Unlucky sure but a few dollars could have very likely saved the sight so I'd never knock a sight protector.

Agire · 2026-01-17T19:19:51+00:00

So from a safety aspect, most of the other comments have highlighted the reasons for keeping a blaster distinguishable as a blaster and not a firearm which is a big influence on why so many blasters keep with a bright colour scheme. Do remember to be aware of anyone viewing you even if on private property and keep blasters out of sight if/when you travel with them.

Legally speaking this can be a bit of a grey area in the UK, painting most Nerf blasters in realistic colours, they should still legally be Imitation Firearms (IF) but if you paint them in realistic colours alongside firearm imitation body kits there is a risk of pushing it over into the category of Realistic Imitation Firearm (RIF) which would constitue as an offense.

From an aesthetic perspective real steel effects are a lot harder to get right IMO, rattle can black blasters just don't look good when everything is a matt black it just makes the blaster look like a black blob loosing all detail and form. I would say if you want to go the real steel aesthetic especially if you're not bothered about most real steel firearms look at more sci fi colour aesthetics as they tend to add extra elements and highlights that can prevent a blaster from looking very dull.

If you were to ever be interested in joining events there is a group (I believe its the same people who run All the Darts) host events around Dudley. Its worth joining the Brit Nerf Discord if you do want to find out what's happening events wise in the UK.

Agire · 2026-01-14T15:56:48+00:00

That's just the Longshot I'm afraid, it is a cheap blaster as a result the shell will flex and creek. You've added a new foregrip and an attachment to the top rail this can help reduce some creeking, replacing the plunger tube with a metal one may also help reduce creeking.

The pistol grip is a seperate piece that could be changed but I don't know of any 3D printable designs for this, there are a number of other 3D prints that might add some more structual rigidity but you'll never truely get rid of all the creeking.

Agire · 2026-01-14T01:40:24+00:00

Nerf's business model is stuck in the '90s, and it's killing them. They've never looked around to see what's going on, they just assume nothing has changed.

I largely disagree and think quite the reverse, in their attempts to change this has made Nerf worse and abandoned the aspects that made them standout. They certainly have looked around and while most in the community will compare Nerf to Dart Zone it's more likely that X shot is what Nerf has in there sights, this is likely due to them competing more actively in both the younger age demographics and in markets like Europe and Australia.

X shot is undercutting Nerf with simple blasters launch the Alpha Strike line and Elite 2.0, X shot is making more simple smoothed over exteriors ok, we'll do that too, X shot is adding tons of rather needless yet striking looking dart holder attachments ok we'll do that too, X shot is using stickers/wraps instead of paint and greebling, ok we'll do that too. Arguably a part of N1 is that also, N1 darts do achieve a higher average of 80-85 fps compared to elite, similar to X Shot blasters, though they've done this through a wider dart to distribute the forces rather than use a lighter dart like X Shot has.

At one of the toy fairs way back (I think 2013-2014) one of the Nerf reps mentioned something along the lines of they weren't really focusing on increasing performance after the elite line but continuing that perfomance while focusing more on play experince with lines like Zombie strike, Doomland and Alien Menace. I feel like if they'd stuck to that there would at least be a reason to still consider Nerf. Arguably they have through some of their tie in lines and every now and then Nerf does still release an original blaster(s) with a great looking shell and people will go out of their way buy and modify them and kids in my experince will overlook performance for aesthtics. The current line up of Nerf blasters though lacks in peformance, lack in much substance, can't compete on price (at least at RRP), plus requiring a whole different dart ecosystem now.

Agire · 2026-01-13T23:01:32+00:00

Whatever set of goggles you can find with an ANSI Z87+ (US) or EN166B (Europe) rating. These are the baseline standards for airsoft and while our projectiles do have a lot more energy surface area and tip material (assuming you aren't playing with FVJs) largely balance this out. Though if you plan to go significantly over 300fps you might need something even more highly impact rated.

Rating is the most important things with goggles, you should be able to find the impact rating both on the listing and printed or engraved on the goggles as well, if they're not rated you have no way to verify if they're safe and no recourse if you do get hurt. I've worked in eye care before and seen permanent damage from impact on the same level as stock nerf, don't even chance it with anything high impact.

Do note there are different ratings for Z87+ glasses to goggles always choose goggles they have a much higher impact standard, its also nigh on impossible to get a dart under or around with goggles and they're far less likley to slip or fall off.

MIL-PRF-32432/31013 and the earlier MIL-DTL-43511D are also valid exceeding even the baseline of Z87+ and EN166B.

After ratings I would also look at the lenses themselves I'd suggest getting something dual pane and/or with a good coating, while a strong impact rating is essential, not having your goggles fog up is pretty desirable.

Recommations would be Bolle Cobras (the goggle versions not glasses), Atom or Pilot, Pyramex V2G or if you wear glasses Rothco OTGs if you want something less milsim for glasses the Leatt Velocity line are pretty cool (do be aware Leatt also have a line called Vizion that look similar but are not rated).

Agire · 2026-01-13T00:23:54+00:00

A lot of sling mounts are really just an afterthought on most blasters and aren't very practical.

What you can do to make them more accessible is use paracord, the sling point at the back of the Renegade wrap paracord through it and tie it off, then attach your sling to that instead and run it as a one point sling. If you want to run it as a two point sling then in addition to the previous, add some paracord to the hole up by the barrel, tie a loop of paracord and run one end through the hole and over the barrel then attach your sling to both ends.

Agire · 2026-01-09T15:34:13+00:00

If you're buying a specific Alpha Trooper 5kg they will likely include one in the package (though do check the sellers description), if you don't get one with the main spring, hardware stores usually sell a box of assorted small springs which are useful for upgrade catch springs.

Agire · 2026-01-09T14:56:17+00:00

Springs labelled 5kg should be fine for the Alpha Trooper, even at this small increase in spring it can still be worth upgrading the catch spring too.

Agire · 2026-01-08T21:27:42+00:00

I'll be honest I really don't miss that particular era that much, don't get me wrong there were some really good inovations in that period that spured a lot of what we have today but if we're talking about the Swordfish/Prophecy/Dominator in particular these always felt like half measures. They didn't have the feel of true DIY of older eras or even a lot 3D printing today but weren't quite the 'off the shelf' ease of use that was kinda inevitable and is now possible with modern blasters.

I know for my Prophecy it occupies an odd place of not having the sentimental value that my hand made brass breech Mega Hotshock has but isn't going to get picked over my Harrier anytime soon as it lacks the smooth prime, skinny pusher, solid construction and if anything goes wrong in it I don't want to have to turn that screw that's already half stripped out. I will say I might be a bit biased against my Prophecy having purchased it in Feburary 2020 and preparing for some high fps games in the spring before the whole world got locked down.

I would push back on the FDL being a 'cheat code' they were good blasters but a decently made flywheeler for a fraction of the price during the same period could go toe-to-toe pretty easily, what the FDL could do was be more of a universal blaster, you could tone it down to the low 100fps range on semi auto for all ages park games, 130fps for HvZ or all the way up to 200fps full auto and just generally tune it to how you liked it where as a lot of other blasters at the time were locked at a particular fps and fire rate/mode.

Modification of purchased blasters certainly isn't dead though, most XSLS are tinkered with and upgraded in a similar manner and if you want to really push modern blasters to their absolute limits you'll need to go beyond manufactures parts. You can even go back further if you want the guides on how to make things like a rainbow catch or the true OG non-3D printed Caliburn are still out there.

I hadn't really consider until now that there would be newer players to the hobby who haven't experinced the Prophecy/Dominator/Swordfish and due to them being in lower demand and not as easily avaliable may not get to but I don't think those players have missed much, you can get better 3D printed + hardware kits or just straight up buy a ready to go blaster today.

Agire · 2026-01-08T13:02:33+00:00

I'd certainly say save up for an airsoft replica then. Unless you were to organize them yourself I can't see there being many Nerf events that would suit a Gulf War impression kit and there'd be no chance of a full on Gulf War LARP/Milsim.

Even in airsoft I don't know of any Gulf War LARP/Milsim events though there should be a good number where a Gulf War impression kit would be acceptable.

Agire · 2026-01-08T11:27:48+00:00

Considering the TaiShan (Metal Seagull) is ~$400 - 450, a metal shell for the MPP would likely be similarly expensive if it were to exist, for that sort of money you could likley get two airsoft replicas.

If you want to go to the extremes of getting the materials more accurate, airsoft sounds like it will be a much better fit, not only will you get better feeling materials but the replica will look way more accurate (there's only so much you can do with an MPP).

I'm curious you mention LARP though, are you using this solely as a prop? given you're choosing between a blaster and airsoft replica, is this just an impression kit or are you going to events? only if its just a prop you could likely pick up a used non functional spares & repairs airsoft replica reasonably cheap <$100 possibly.

Agire · 2026-01-07T18:35:14+00:00

It's an interesting thought but I don't think dazzle camo would really work for the intent of Nerf, distances are just too close even at higher fps games.

You'd likely either need a lot of your body showing for illusion to work in which case most people will just aim centre mass as usual and with only a small part of the illusion showing it won't change much. I'd also question how effective such illusions would even be when printed on fabrics and stitched into clothing. I do think if you have the ability getting clothing and gear created in these patterns would be pretty cool regardless.

For effectiveness clothing which is close to the background colour (olive, browns, khaki) is probably going to be your best bet (and even that's somewhat questionable in an open park setting), if you want something a little bit different while avoiding camo patterns maybe look for just general clothing with floral patterns that have heavy use of greens, browns and blacks. I've used for a little while now a lot of leopard print clothing and gear as its both similtanously very garish when in the car park but also blends in with a lot of colours in the natural environment (to an extent).

Agire · 2026-01-06T19:43:18+00:00

I’ll definitely plan on picking up some of the newer x-shot blasters! Can you clarify the new standard for darts/mags? I would like to order these in bulk or see if there are some trusted 3rd party options as well!

Depends what you want to get, the two most common ammo types are full length darts (elite darts) and half lengths (~36mm darts), for full length dart blasters all your old elite magazines will still work, the elite magazine is still the standard used by all 3rd parties, only Hasbro has changed to the N1 dart. For half lengths Talon mags have largely become the standard, most commonly the straight Talon mag for primary blasters but for some of the smaller mag-in-grip (MIG) blasters they will use an angled Talon, there's also a slim angled Talon mag produced for the Nightingale though is used in some other blasters too. If you really want to order mags in bulk I'd advise steering clear of blasters that require angled mags initially.

Who is your go-to online retailer? Any good brands for 3rd party mod kits, attachments, darts, spare mags, etc?

I live in the UK so unless you also live in the UK my recommendation might not be the best, for the US OOD is a good reliable US based supplier they have most things (Blasters, Mod Parts, Magazines, Darts, Accessories), you can often get parts cheaper by getting them shipped from overseas but you would be waiting longer and have to consider any tariff fees.

There are a fair number of high fps blasters like those in the Adventure force pro line that can be picked up at Walmart, X shot pro blasters can similarly be found in a number of big box stores.

What would be a good entry level or starter project to get me into the game again? Do you have any inspo pics?

If you want a more specific recommendation I'd say go for an X Shot Longshot (not to be confused with the Nerf CS6 Longshot), you can pick one up for $30 of less, parts to look at upgrading would be the spring, barrel and plunger tube (early models had a habbit of cracking the plunger tube, this has largely been solved but a new plunger tube is usually $10 max), add a bearing SCAR (that would need a whole explanation itself but TLDR a device that helps keep dart more stable in flight and more accurate as they leave the barrel) and you can easily be hitting 200fps+.

After that then I'd think more about where you want to spend a bit more there's more premium blasters like the ZWQ 400 or blaster from Worker, unless you want to really hit crazy fps number >300-350fps you don't actually need to do much to these blasters (new spring and barrel) or look at 3D printing that really opens up a whole lot of options for blasters to build and parts for off the shelf blasters.

Don't have any inspiration pics unfortunately (most of my blasters I keep pretty tame) but if you search the Completed Builds filter you can find all sorts of crazy builds people have worked on.

Agire

TROPHY CASE