Nerf modding is about taking an ordinary toy and making it better. Some people do this by improving the performance, while others like to change the appearance through painting or custom body work. I like to play Nerf competitively, so performance mods have always been important to me. But coming from an airsoft background, I like to add some tacticool flair to my blasters. Recently, I set out to build my ultimate, dream blaster. I had a clear idea on performance with plans of a full seal metal artifact breech and higher ROF pump action kit for my trusty Retaliator, but how could I match that with something truly unique in terms of cosmetics? The answer came from my friend Tom at Foam Data Services who had offered to do a dip for me as a favor for helping him out with some customer support on a couple of Rapidstrike customers here in the US.
Since the film is transparent, I had to choose a paint color as a base, I requested a reptilian green in multiple shades. Tom was kind enough to source a Retaliator shell so I didn’t have to mail one to him in England. After a few weeks of waiting and many messages on Britnerf, it was ready to go out and I received a small teaser photo. Shipping from the UK to the US takes about a week. I had been really busy at work, so I kind of forgot about it. One night after a long, hard day at work battling pacific northwest giants that had sucked the life right out of me and I had just crawled into bed, my wife casually mentioned that I had received a package.
In my opinion, this blaster is a work of art fitting of the finest gallery alongside Picasso or Rembrandt. I had done it: I built my ultimate, dream blaster! There are many guides on YouTube on how to do hydrodipping at home, as well as several modders including Tom who will do a commission dip for those who are not ready to try something like this themselves. I am not sure if I will be attempting my own dips in the future by using Tom’s handy how to guides Nerf Hydro Dip How To pt.1, or if I should leave this to the masters. But I am positive that I am in awe of the results and can’t wait for my next hydro dip adventure!