Blaster Types that are Pretty Much Dead Now

I came to the realization that even though Nerf and the other brands out there have put out some pretty neat stuff recently, the golden age of innovation for these brands was long left behind after N-Strike took its foothold in 2003, leaving Larami(One of the most renowned manufacturers at the time)and OddZon down in a ditch while the long running tactical based blasters took the foot hold for the new generation's interests. People didn't want Ballzooka's, Mad Hornet's, or Crossbow's anymore, they wanted something that resembled their Barrett or M4A1 off Call of Duty instead. It's the things around us shape what we are, that's exactly what happened with Nerf. Here's some of the gear that the new generation missed out on.




To be totally honest with you guys, I didn't even know there was a vintage generation of Nerf. I first found out looking around for blaster mods in 2009 and came across NerfCenter. Seeing some of the things on that site just kind of made me realize how much history there was behind just a line of foam shooting toys, and how much they changed. Its tough to come by something that doesn't resemble a real world counterpart now a days. Holding a Retaliator instantly makes me think M4A1 or something like that, holding an old Electric Eel makes you think a bit more creatively. I just never saw the variety back then in today's lineup. I gets me thinking that kids in the 80's and 90's had better things to do than sit around and play CoD all day. That's because they didn't have such exposure to things and used their imagination instead of a console to generate entertainment. While a kid whose a die hard CoD nut will think an Electric Eel will look like a rats arse compared to a Maverick, but the older generation would probably say something like "I remember I used to play Humans vs Aliens with this thing!" Because they had a more vivid imagination rather than US Armymen and Russian Spetznaz slaughtering each other. Here's some things from back then that are basically dead now thanks to the modern generation.

1.Air Pistols

Examples: SuperMaxx 500, Splitfire, AirTech 2000

These were once the backbone of a Nerfer's sidearms. Some nearly packed as much power are their rifle based cousins. Their downfall was faster loading methods and overall, the design became less and less appealing. Nobody wanted a pump sticking out of their pristine little pea shooter.

2. Air Rifles

Examples: SuperTech 9000, Mad Hornet, AirTech 3000

The working mans primary. Although they took some work to prime, the results were respected. Sheer distance and accuracy, and sometimes, semi automatic functionality was the deal here. But this suffered from the same downfall as the smaller Pistols, despite most pumps on these were tracked and looked flush with the blaster.

3. Air Automatics

Examples: Rapid Fire 20, PowerClip DX1000, Wildfire

The technology used by these is still used in Electric Plunger Systems today but these bad boys just used good ol' air to send a fury of darts in mere seconds at your opponents. These suffered from tedious loading times and the mechanisms, especially on the RF20 and the Wildfire were notoriously unreliable. Some are still used widely in the form of the Magstrike and the newer RF20 but those have been gone since last year.

4. Crank Blasters

Examples: Chainblazer, Razorbeast, Ballzooka

These were the closest you could get to a fully automatic blaster without the need of air pumps. Crank blasters used a simple catch mechanism to where the plunger would release at a certain rotation of draw length. This also powered early belt fed systems or rotating chambers like on the infamous Ballzooka. This system was traded out for more efficient and accurate means of dart or ball delivery.

5. Ring Blasters

Examples: Firestorm, Tornado, Powerstrike

The ammo was, odd to say the least but the range was absolutely astounding. Koosh blasters out shot every other stock blaster out there, even by today's standards. There downfall was the fact OddzZon stopped production of these blasters as well as the ammo, making both scarce, yet a treat if you still own one.

6. Arrow Launchers

Examples: Crossbow, Big Bad Bow, Bow n' Arrow

Bows were probably one of the most famous types of Nerf weaponry for the time. The appearance was very cool and they shot respectable distances. The downfall of these blasters were the discontinuation of ammo refills and the modding community re-purposing them to shoot darts(namely the Crossbow), proving to Nerf arrows weren't needed anymore. They may make a comeback in the form of the Blazing Bow,a perfect candidate thanks to the masses of Hunger Games fans out there.

7. Ball Blasters

Examples: Ballzooka, Ballzooka MP150, Reactor

Ball blasters were never powerful enough to match their dart blasting counterparts but they were around just for the fun factor of them. Most famous being the Ballzooka, a revolving monster that could unleash 15 balls in seconds. Their downfall was the fact that they had no real purpose, just fun.

8. Heavy MGs

Examples: Razorbeast, Vulcan EBF-25

These actually died off pretty recently with the Vulcan. Even though they were large and imposing, the performance tended to suck, constant jams and highly cumbersome designs made the MGs downfall swift.

What Still Linger?

Spring Pistols(NiteFinder, Firestrike, Element)

Flywheel Blasters(Rayven, Hailfire, Barricade)

Revolvers(Maverick REV-6, Strongarm, Firefly)

Disc Launchers(Praxis, Pyragon, Vigilon)

Spring Rifles(Retaliator, Recon CS-6)

Sniper Rifles(Longshot CS-6, Longstrike CS-6, Centurion)

Rocket Launchers(Titan ASV-1)

Pocket Pistols(Secret Strike, Jolt, Reflex)

Shotguns(Rough Cut 2x4, Rampage, Alpha Trooper)