Nerf clone: X-power Blaster 200
Ran into Nerf-clone blasters, of the brand I posted about in my last post, in our local Marskramer, including some models not in the Intertoys ad. I picked up the cheapest one (a one-shot blaster the same length as a Hasbro Nerf Nite Finder, but smaller in all other dimensions) to poke at it.
Brand: X-power.
Model: Blaster 200
Price: EUR 2,99
First impressions: the plastic feels cheap and somewhat brittle. Also, something rattles inside when the pump isn't primed. This goes away when you prime the pump, so it's probably the spring.
The one I picked has a neon green/yellow casing, with black and silver paint, and some decals. The trigger, pump pull and nozzle are black plastic. The blaster comes with six darts.Stock darts are fitted with tips which are too hard to my taste: I wouldn't want to be hit in the forehead with these. Also included are two extra dart holders which can be loosely mounted to the side of the blaster. They don't look very good, and are too tight around the darts they need to hold. I removed them two minutes after mounting them.
The darts are slightly larger in diameter than Hasbro Nerf darts though, and standard nerf darts don't form a good enough seal to be shot properly. With stock darts, the blaster shoots reasonably well: 7 meters.
Besides a paintjob, the main thing I would change about these blasters would be to mod them so they'll take Hasbro Nerf darts. I wouldn't want to open it up too often though, as I think the screws would probably wear out the plastic very quickly. Unscrew, mod, paint, reassemble and use.
I'd say these blasters are worth their extremely low price, and would be good for a Larp looking to equip a lot of NPC's on a tight budget, or for someone who just wants a simple smallish sidearm. As it is thinner than any Hasbro Nerf blaster it would be easier to conceal as well.
Pictures:
This is after removing the front sight (a hook-shaped bit of plastic which would have made drawing it difficult), and picking at the decals a bit. No letters cast into the plastic though, so that makes it easier to mod. Decals should come off easily enough, any glue residue will come off with some gasoline.
Next to a Nite Finder. About the same length, but thinner and less bulky.
Brand: X-power.
Model: Blaster 200
Price: EUR 2,99
First impressions: the plastic feels cheap and somewhat brittle. Also, something rattles inside when the pump isn't primed. This goes away when you prime the pump, so it's probably the spring.
The one I picked has a neon green/yellow casing, with black and silver paint, and some decals. The trigger, pump pull and nozzle are black plastic. The blaster comes with six darts.Stock darts are fitted with tips which are too hard to my taste: I wouldn't want to be hit in the forehead with these. Also included are two extra dart holders which can be loosely mounted to the side of the blaster. They don't look very good, and are too tight around the darts they need to hold. I removed them two minutes after mounting them.
The darts are slightly larger in diameter than Hasbro Nerf darts though, and standard nerf darts don't form a good enough seal to be shot properly. With stock darts, the blaster shoots reasonably well: 7 meters.
Besides a paintjob, the main thing I would change about these blasters would be to mod them so they'll take Hasbro Nerf darts. I wouldn't want to open it up too often though, as I think the screws would probably wear out the plastic very quickly. Unscrew, mod, paint, reassemble and use.
I'd say these blasters are worth their extremely low price, and would be good for a Larp looking to equip a lot of NPC's on a tight budget, or for someone who just wants a simple smallish sidearm. As it is thinner than any Hasbro Nerf blaster it would be easier to conceal as well.
Pictures:
This is after removing the front sight (a hook-shaped bit of plastic which would have made drawing it difficult), and picking at the decals a bit. No letters cast into the plastic though, so that makes it easier to mod. Decals should come off easily enough, any glue residue will come off with some gasoline.
Next to a Nite Finder. About the same length, but thinner and less bulky.