Nerf Stars & Stripes Eagle Review

When Nerf Elite 2.0 hit shelves, reactions were less than enthusiastic. For blasters like the Elite 2.0 Warden (an update to the beloved Elite Roughcut), the initial products shipped to shelves saw defects in either manufacturing or design, as seen in more than one Youtube video. Future production runs were fixed somewhat, but issues with molding persisted (see Beret video here). The damage was done, and the Warden disappeared, never to be seen again. Until now, that is.

The Stars & Stripes Eagle is a Warden with a red, white, and blue paint spray on the sides, and a flying eagle featured prominently. Like so many other things this year, it’s an attempt to cash in on the United States’ 250th anniversary. In the case of Hasbro, it’s also a way to put blasters on shelves quickly, now that the N Series has been killed off and regular darts have returned. The end result? It at least functions and looks cool, while keeping the old price point. Is it worth grabbing? That’s…up to you. But I never reviewed the Warden, so here I am!

Shotgun Madness

The Stars & Stripes Eagle holds eight darts, in two rows of four. It has two plunger tubes inside, with each tube powering a “Smart AR” assembly of four darts. Priming the blaster pulls back both plungers, and you can theoretically fire one dart at a time, depending on how far back you depress the trigger.

In reality, you need very precise finger control to not just fire both darts at once. Even with practice, I can only do it half the time. This is one of those cases where extra resistance in the trigger pull would be appreciated, given the functionality.

The artwork on the side is well done – ever since Xshot started making Skins blasters, that style of artwork on blasters has become all the rage.

There is a single tactical rail up top, although given the use case of this blaster, I’m not sure how useful it can be. You’re far more likely to be shooting from the hip then you are to be aiming down the top of the blaster.

The blaster itself is comfortable to use, so that’s a plus.

Performance and Gameplay

The Stars & Stripes Blaster is actually fun to use in a war! It doesn’t have the range of other blasters you can buy on shelves, but it has the capacity to do some good work.

With the included darts, the first barrels averaged 69fps, with dart speeds dropping to the high 50s by the last barrel. For rate of fire…you’re firing two darts at once, AND the blaster has slamfire. Six darts per second is possible, but you have to be sure to complete the entire motion, otherwise the pump grip will hang up until you take that extra moment to finish the original motion and start over.

Internals and Modification?

There are a ton of clips on the blaster, in addition to solvent welded areas. If you want to look inside, see this post. Otherwise, don’t worry about it.

Last Thoughts

Hasbro reusing an old mold is a choice. On the plus side, it looks better than ever with the new paint scheme, and it doesn’t seem to have the issues of the original version. On the other hand, the use cases are somewhat limited. Kids will love this, and I’d use it in a Humans v Zombies game in a heartbeat. But is it necessary for the collection? No.