Toy Fair 2023 – News From Day 2!

This post is dedicated to a few outliers in the blaster field. I spent plenty of time walking up and down the rows yesterday, looking for companies that had blasters on display, and I found a few! I also messaged a few others, so hopefully these get more coverage in the future. Here we go!

Yes, I know the featured picture is for Beanie Babies, It was too cute to ignore!

IMC Toys has Chalk Missiles?

This was an interesting find, for sure. At the IMC Toys booth, they had both packaging display mockups and working samples for missile launchers. The projectiles themselves appeared to be Nerf Demolisher missiles in size and construction, but with a large chalk powder reservoir at the front.

The simple “pull back to fire” blaster, like you’d see in a Nerf Reactor, for example, had an MSRP of $15. The three-barrel launcher (pull back the rear handle to rotate, push forward to fire), meanwhile, was $25. The construction is simple and uncomplicated, but they’re still really neat for the price. ESPECIALLY after Nerf tried selling the Fortnite GL for $60! $25 for a smaller version firing three missiles is quite reasonable.

Hopefully some stores pick these up for sale!

Fast Pioneer Toys Was Here!

We’ve seen some of their blasters appear on Amazon at various prices, but the Fast Pioneer/Big Power Electric blasters from Shantou Baihui Toys were actually here at Toy Fair! We’ve seen the blue versions online (here’s a link to a video of one of them, for reference), but the white versions were all on display. I’ll get around to scanning or photographing the various offerings – they certainly draw inspiration from existing mainstream blasters, but they at least have their own unique design flair to make them distinct. And after seeing them all up close in person, it’d be great to see them online or in stores this coming year. An Ultra 2, but made for full length darts (aka no modding needed)? That could be useful! More semi-auto flywheel blasters? Let’s do it!

Happyline Toys! The Line is Expanding

Happyline Toys makes the Fast Shots line of dart and water blasters. Early entries were very much derivatives of existing Xshot and Dart Zone blasters, among others. As time has passed, though, the designs have expanded, with unique shells and mechanisms making an appearance. How long they’ll hold up to extended use or modding remains to be seen, of course, but the fact that they’re branching out from those designs is great.

Doubling the Xshot Quickslide mechanism with two clips? That’s fun! Combining the Xshot Crusher style priming handle with a giant 40-dart drum, a la the Dart Zone Magnum? Kids would love that! The Alien-Gen blasters, while still the same internally as other blasters, look amazing and come with plenty of darts. Hopefully, I’ll see these outside of Ross, Ollie’s, Bargain Hunt, and DD’s Discounts this year,