Gel Ball Legal Wars: Dart Zone Emerges (Kinda) Victorious?
December 22, 2025It’s been a while since I last wrote about the legal fight over gel blasters. Since then, the case has been largely slow-moving. Finally, though, there’s a final determination…and Prime Time Toys won! It may be somewhat of a Phyrric victory, though. Let’s take a peek.
Acorn Armaments Signet Build/Assembly Guide
December 18, 2025It’s a bit early for the review – I’ve only just finished printing the files after ordering the hardware kit from Out of Darts a while back – but I felt there needed to be a post. There doesn’t seem to be a build guide online yet! And while someone like me can figure out the assembly after staring at the pieces long enough, even I came across a few small difficulties during the process. To that end, let’s make a post with pictures!
I’ll hopefully have time to use this blaster over the weekend. But since I’ve seen the creator (and others) use this blaster at Humans v Zombies games throughout the year, I’m sure it’ll hold up just fine!
Dart Zone Max Solo Pro DIY Kit Review
December 16, 2025This is admittedly a short post. I’ve already posted a review for the Dart Zone Max Solo Pro, but for the holidays, Prime Time Toys FINALLY made a DIY kit oriented towards those who are new or inexperienced in the hobby. For someone like me, largely irrelevant. For new people, much more relevant, and it comes with exclusive shell colors.
Plus, how often do I get to film my wife assembling things? It makes life lots more fun. And she can shoot me afterwards! XD
Buzz Bee Mayhem Outrage Review
December 15, 2025The largest blaster in the Mayhem line (in the United States, at least) is the Outrage. At $20, it fills the traditional place of past Buzz Bee entries like the Sidewinder and Barbarian, with a manual plunger and a removable dart drum. And with regional holiday sales, 30 dart capacity blasters can be quite appealing. However, given some of the firing issues with this blaster, it’s probably not the best choice to go under the tree.
Femling Design Stagecoach Review
December 5, 2025Author’s note: thanks to Out of Darts for sending one of these blasters my way to use and review!
Silly Shells. They make firing all kinds of ammo from the same blaster easy and fun. And while we’ve had some practical, shell-fed blasters made recently in the community (the Breacher and the BattleAxe come to mind), there’s always fun to be had using a break-action shotgun. To that end, we have the Femling Design Stagecoach, a 3D printed, double barrel shotgun. With double the internals of other blasters, it’s not quite as fast to use as other blasters. But it’s more flexible in other ways, and it makes for unique experience if you have either the money to invest, or the time to print all the parts to go with a hardware kit.
Dart Zone Finally Offers a DIY Solo!
December 3, 2025This is an interesting thing to report on, both due to the hobby relevance and my conflicted opinions.
Thanks to Dart Sweep for the picture!
If you recall from Toy Fair earlier this year, one of the promotions on the floor was a DIY Dart Zone Max Solo, with a 3 barrel shotgun blast. Dart Zone wanted to make this a real option for consumers, not just a promotional item that’s part of the marketing budget…and it’s finally a thing. Extra thanks to Dart Sweep for the extra package pictures! I’ll have to make sure to tag him an inordinate amount of times at the next Maryland war I find time to attend!
The package retails for $25 on the website, and features both the white and red shells (use your preference!), along with the triple barrel and twelve darts. The package also has a QR code link with assembly instructions, making for a complete experience.
Admittedly, hobbyists like me may not see as much value here – we have lots of Dart Zone Solo mods available, in addition to general know-how and experience. That gets compounded by the fact that Target now carries Solos for $10. For someone like me, paying extra to assemble a blaster is odd. For someone else assembling things and the blasting is an extra (like LEGO or K’NEX), though, it’s a different matter.
Thankfully, there’s at least a discount code (DZBYOSOLO) for 20% off this week. Past that, it turns into a matter of perceived value. Which is still high, given the Solo’s potential, but maybe not $25 high? I know expected production numbers, tariffs, and shipping all play their part, but that is still high, especially when you can buy an Aeon Pro X for the same price. I would hope that, in the future, there are other kinds of discounts and deals. Order barrels separately for the Target Solos? Get a free random blaster charm? Just a thought.
Go Slow Taco/Joy of Sox Corbett Charity Drive
December 2, 2025I’m still in the process of flying back from vacation, but it’s worth getting the in-flight wifi to post this.
Starting tomorrow, Go Slow Taco is holding their annual Joy of Sox charity drive, providing overlooked clothing items for people in need (appropriate when so many in the group are classic HvZ players). It’s also in memory of a good friend, Thomas Corbett (one of the founders of Containment Crew).
There will be a raffle at $10 a ticket, featuring various prizes, as well as actual auctions for higher-value items. Blasterhub is pitching in with a few things this year to help. We’re up to almost $20k over the years of the charity drive, and we’re aiming to raise $6500 this year.
Follow the links above, and subscribe to their Instagram for more info!
