Project Updates

It looks like this blog is going along quite well now (It's only been up for two weeks and I feel like it is doing well for only having been up for that amount of time). Right now, I am working on design and acquisition of materials for a "blaster rack" because my two 27 gallon tubs are now at full capacity. I will probably post a picture of that when it gets done. Also as of late, I have been looking into making a homemade blaster of my own, since I Saw some of SG Nerf's designs (here is the link to his blog on homemades, they are a must see!) I should have that done by Christmas, (still working on designs and I will be very busy since school starts next week) but I will definitely make a post on that when I have it done. Between those, it will just be the regular Reviews, mods, and general news. I would also like to thank those who have been posting nice feedback, I really appreciate it!

Buzz Bee Hunter Mod guide

The Buzz Bee Hunter in stock form performance wise, is not great. It gets 20- 25 foot ranges and can only use the stock Buzz Bee darts. Here is my method of modding this blaster (If you want to read my review of this blaster, the link is here):
Disassemble the blaster. Unscrew all of the screws, and the shell should come apart fairly easily. Note: flip the blaster over after unscrewing, because the internals are all in the side where the screws are.
Internals:

Close up:

Once you have opened the blaster casing, take out the Plunger/bolt assembly.
It should look like this:

Take out the two screws holding the plunger rod onto the bolt, and slide off the black ring with the tubing attached:

Look inside of the bolt where the darts are chambered. Inside, there is an air restrictor. Get a pair of needle nose pliers, grip the end of the dart post, and twist until it comes out:

Now you will see the main air restrictor:

Drill out the rest of it. The air restrictor, it's spring, and the rest of the dart post should fall out:

Now, you will need to cut a piece of 1/2" CPVC about 2 centimeters long:

Dremel it out so the darts can slide in easier, and make the edge very thin, so that the CPVC does not affect the chambering of the darts:

Here is what it should look like, and a comparison of the CPVC I have dremeled out (right), and a piece that hasn't (left):

Now, hot glue it inside of the bolt like so:

Now re- assemble the blaster. You may choose to remove the dart tooth (I have chosen not to), (without the dart tooth, you will have to manually load the dart into the barrel, but it is probably necessary to remove if you are adding a barrel extension)
Here is the dart tooth:

Here is my test fire data: (shots are angled to ground)
Stock Buzz Bee Hunter:
Stock Buzz Bee darts (only darts compatible with blaster): 20-25 ft
 Modified Buzz Bee Hunter:
Stock Buzz Bee darts: 40-45 ft
Nerf Suction, whistler, and Tagger darts: 40-45 ft
Nerf Streamline darts:45- 55 ft
I basically doubled the range and made it capable of shooting any kind of dart, but besides these mods, there isn't much more modding potential for this blaster (maybe spring replacement and teflon tape under the O ring?). Since there is a tube between the plunger and the bolt, there is a lot of deadspace which drastically affects the range that this blaster can achieve. Overall, I am happy with the ranges this achieves after what I would consider to be fairly easy mods.
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Update: I recently made some stefans, (my first batch that actually works :P) and my modified buzz be hunter will achieve much better range and accuracy.

Also, if you like my blog, please tell others. I want to get and keep this blog going strong! And if you have any comments and/ or suggestions, please email me at reidsk8r@gmail.com! I'm also thinking of changing this blog's name, so please leave suggestions!

 

Buzz Bee Hunter Review!

The Buzz Bee Hunter is a single shot, bolt- action rifle. It cost me 9 bucks at Big Lots. It comes packaged with 4 Darts, and has some cool features. It has storage for 2 darts on it's side, and a "secret storage compartment" in the stock which holds 4 darts. Rangewise, it gets 20-25 feet. (I will be modding this blaster very soon and may post a mod guide.) In stock form, it is not compatible with any kind of Nerf darts, (maybe if they are trimmed).  Overall I like this blaster, it is fun and addictive to use, and performs okay. It is quite small for a "rifle" and may be considered a bolt action pistol instead. I have had no problems so far with jams.
Overview:

Bolt Closed:

Bolt Open:

Side dart storage:

"Secret storage compartment" closed:

"Secret storage compartment" open:

Video Review:


I can't wait to mod this!

Also, if you like my blog, please tell others. I want to get and keep this blog going strong! And if you have any comments and/ or suggestions, please email me at reidsk8r@gmail.com! I'm also thinking of changing this blog's name, so please leave suggestions!

Nerf Whiteout darts!

I'm sure most of you have heard of the Nerf Whiteout series. A reader of Urban Taggers spotted them at Walmart. (Apparently they don't come with whiteout blasters which seems dumb) They look pretty cool though! You can find the post here. I'm really exited for whiteout series, because they are one of the only repaints that really appeal to me, but I still wish Nerf would put out a new N-strike blaster, because I'm getting sick of nothing but repaints.

Update: I should be getting a Buzz Bee Hunter tomorrow, and I should have the review up tomorrow as well.

Orange Mod Works

I'm sure most of you have heard of this company before, but for those modders who haven't, you are in for a treat! Thier kits seem well priced, and I have seen a lot of trusted modders (some include Jerm at nerf mods and reviews and lorddraconical who also authors on that blog.) give it top marks. I will definately be looking into some of these kits, especially the recon stage 1 and 2.
Jerm's stock alpha trooper:

Jerm's Alpha trooper with OMW stage 1 kit:


lorddraconical's OMW stage 1 Recon kit review and installation:


I think these kits will make modding available to more people and add more possibilities to what can be done with modding!

* Sorry about the oversized vids- I can't figure out why it wouldn't make them smaller like my other ones.

lorddraconical's Nerf Vortex Praxis review!

Drac now has all of the vortex blasters! Here is the link to his review of the Praxis and Nitron along with the video. I know I keep saying this, but I am REALLY exited for the vortex blasters! Update: Drac has just put up his Nitron review video! (It seems like a pretty dissapointing blaster.)

Preorder Nerf Vortex at Toys R' Us!

I was at Toys R' Us today, and found these pre- order slips for the new nerf vortex line. It is a 5 dollar deposit, and you pay the price of the blaster when they recieve them between September 10th and 17th. You get a 5 dollar gift card to Toys R' Us on the day of pickup. (Very good marketing technique, because you get your 5 dollars back, but you have no choice but to spend it at their store) :P

Front:

Back:

I wonder why they don't have Proton and Vigilon pre- order forms too? Either way, I can't wait to get my hands on these blasters!

Nerf Proton Mod tutorial by lorddraconical!

lorddraconical is one of my personal favorite modders out there. His videos are high quality, and his mods and paintjobs never cease to amaze me. He recently put up a proton mod and made it much more powerful, and removed a lot of those pesky "safety" locks that seem to keep these Vortex blasters from firing as smoothly as they could.
Here is the video:

Also, check out the other videos on his channel! They are awesome!

Buzz Bee Torrent Review

I picked this up at Target yesterday for 15 dollars because it looked like fun. After playing with it for a while, it seems to me that Buzz Bee is improving the quality of their blasters and "catching up" to Nerf.  The Torrent uses regular Buzz Bee darts and shells. It has a 12 dart capacity, and operates similar to a Nerf Raider in it's priming mechanism. One feature I really like about this blaster, is that you can choose whether or not to eject the shells. You can do this by pushing the handle all the way forward. It is spring loaded, so if you want to eject the shells, then you just have to push the priming handle forward slighly farther than at resting position. It gets from 25-30 feet rangewise, very comparable to most Nerf blasters. There is only one real con that I can find with this, which is that the priming handle and trigger handle are very small.

Overview: 

Turret:

Assembled:

Priming Handle:

Trigger Handle:

Shell ejection slot:

Firing test:  
                           

Sorry about the vid quality, I have no idea why my camera made it so fuzzy.
If you want internal photos, I believe that Jerm at Nerf Mods & Reviews has an internals photo. Overall, I really like this blaster, and am happy with this purchase. I don't really plan to mod it besides removing the air restrictors in the shells and I might remove the turret cover for easier loading during wars.

Also, if you like my blog, please tell others. I want to get and keep this blog going strong! And if you have any comments and/ or suggestions, please email me at reidsk8r@gmail.com! I'm also thinking of changing this blog's name, so please leave suggestions!

Welcome to Foam Frenzy!

Welcome to Foam Frenzy! Here You will find in- depth reviews on toy blasters of all kinds, mods, general nerf news, and the occasional "heads up" for new blasters.