Dart Zone Primus Review

Dart Zone has been in an interesting position this year. They have new blasters on shelves, thanks to their partnerships with Walmart and Target, but they also have blasters that didn’t get picked up by the big retailers. As such, they’ve had to rely on direct online sales for a larger number of products than before, hoping to get enough sales or buzz to get them picked up later. That appears to be the case with the Dart Zone Primus – it’s still available from their website, but it’s also newly available at Cabela’s/Bass Pro Shops.

Frankly, the Primus deserves more love. It’s a unique blaster in a field of traditional mag-fed designs, utilizing tech first introduced in the Dart Zone Pro Mk3. It hits hard for an ages 8+ blaster, spits out darts faster than advertised, and it has enough extra parts for kids to have fun with. Plus, there are surprises inside for the hobbyists among us. And at $50, it possibly even outshines the Nerf Loadout Galactic Commander, if only because it remains compatible with all the darts and gear we still use.

Turn That Frown Upside Down

The most obvious difference from other motorized blasters is, of course, the orientation of the magazine. Like we saw at Toy Fair this year, the Primus has its full-length magazine on top of the blaster, reminiscent of a classic design from real steel. That makes traditional aiming down the top of the blaster a bit impossible, of course, but the blaster comes with an offset scope for the kids in us who want to aim that way. Even so, muscle memory does wonders. I’ve used more than enough “weird” blasters over the years to know that practice makes everything better.

The magazine release is blended into the top of the blaster, but you can fairly easily hit it with your thumb while grabbing out the magazine.

If you’re the type to use blasters and attachments to their fullest extent (read that at “kids and kidults”), the Primus will please. It has an extending buffer tube stock, complete with NStrike attachment point. It also features a basic bipod, which attaches at the front of the blaster. Additionally, the removable barrel features a storage clip for the bipod legs, in case you want to flip them up and use them as a front grip. It’s a fun design, though admittedly using this blaster prone doesn’t appeal to me (and the bipod is a tad wobbly). I’m sure a kid on the lawn or in a blanket fort would beg to differ.

The blaster itself is brightly colored, liberally matching the purple and green motif of the included Nitroshot darts. It looks cool, plain and simple, and the splashes of orange for the barrel and other select pieces complete the look.

Full Auto Optional

The main grip is as comfortable as any I’ve ever handled, and it operates mostly like you’d expect. The rev trigger spins up the flywheels, and the main trigger operates the pusher. However, there’s a flip switch within thumb’s reach that changes how that pusher operates. Like the Mk3, the semi-auto setting is a manual pusher, riding on a swinging arm internally. Flipping to full-auto disables the lever inside, and it also engages a motorized gear train. The system works well, so why shouldn’t Dart Zone use it again?

Performance and Gameplay

The Primus is a monster on the field for an 8+ blaster, averaging 98fps with the included darts on 6 fresh AA batteries. It advertises five darts per second, but in my testing it’s more like six darts per second. It will, of course, not fire that fast on semi-auto – you have to take the time to physically extend the pusher and retract it – but some of us don’t always want to spam darts.

Modification Potential – Short Dart Ready?

This was a surprise to find, and was worth a post earlier in the year, but I’ll reiterate: the Primus can’t use short darts out of the box, but it has the parts to do so. The Primus’ pusher arm doesn’t physically move as far as the one in the Mk3, so it trades dual compatibility for rate of fire. However, after remixing a 3d printed pusher to use short darts in one Primus, it was discovered that the work hadn’t been necessary. There’s an extra pusher piece hiding under the rear tactical rail, and it simply slots in place at the front of the pusher. Once you reinsert the pusher in its channel, the extension stays in place. You can now fire short darts using Dart Zone’s magazine adapter!

As for the rest of the blaster, the layout is what you’d expect in terms of switches, flywheels, etc. The motor cage uses the same mounting posts as the Nerf Stryfe, which means you can (with minor trimming) use existing aftermarket/3d printed cages in the Primus. At least, those without dart guides, since the magazine is mounted upside down. If needed, try using files specific to the Worker Dominator – that blaster used the same cage mounting posts, but lacked the dart guide due to the blaster’s unique design.

Final Opinion

The Primus is one of the best blasters to come out this year, with easy operation, lots of capabilities, and a few fun surprises. It’s becoming easier to find, as well. If you’re looking for a capable full-length dart blaster this season, you can’t go wrong here. Add one to the collection!