SillyButts Excalibur 3D Printed Blaster Review

Author’s note: a big thanks to Out of Darts, who was willing to send me a hardware kit for free!

It’s been a while since I was able to consistently print the parts for a community-designed blaster. So, when I had the chance to both print a blaster and get a free hardware kit to try, I jumped on it.

In many ways, Excalibur is a modern evolution of Captain Slug’s classic Caliburn design (we’ve had articles on the Mega version and a Rival version on here years ago). It’s a large springer platform, operated via pump action and able to take both full length and half length darts. But it incorporates many modern design features, ranging from ball bearings on the priming sled to takedown disassembly to easy spring swaps and more. It’s a great example as any of how far the hobby has come, and it’s reminded me just how much fun making your own blaster can be.

See the blaster files here!

SO MANY PARTS

If you’re printing parts yourself, this blaster actually takes some time. However it’s easy to figure out just how you want to make the blaster. If you’re using a Bambu printer, there’s a handy project file for orienting and printing all the parts, sorted by primary/secondary/tertiary color. If you’re using other 3D printers, the files download in separate folders, again following those colors. Regardless of how you’re printing, the process is easy to follow, even with so many parts to make.

In my case, I really liked a picture online of one of the original blasters in yellow, orange, and black, so I copied it. I did customize a little bit, using a black filament with glitter in it.

Once all the parts were printed, I followed the PDF with instructions for assembly. And at that point, it felt like putting together a Lego set. Parts fit together as illustrated, often with interlocking tabs that made for an extra sturdy build – you aren’t just relying on screws and fasteners to keep pieces together and aligned.

I didn’t think to make a video about assembly…but luckily, Out of Dart did just that a few days ago!

Quality of Life Perks

There are two breech files to use, depending on the width of the dart heads you’ll be using. Since my build was already using a wider barrel (.527″ diameter), I elected to use the wide head version, enabling better use of most any full length dart I would normally come across. That being said…narrow headed darts are still going to perform better, since you don’t have the extra friction against the barrel. But if my “widest compatibility” choice performs this well, then others will be happy with better tuned versions. A short dart magazine adapter is included in the files.

The priming block within the front of the blaster rides on six bearings to make for smooth movement. Compared to some old blasters, the effort needed is night and day; you only have to fight the spring when priming the blaster.

The spring itself is held in place with a removable end cap. If you wish, you can swap out the spring on the fly just by pushing the cap in and twisting to unlock it.

Performance and War Use

I finally got to use my Excalibur this past Sunday! It wasn’t the best conditions for a battle – due to being in a public park where anyone wanting to use the equipment had right of way, it limited some rounds to a narrow strip of field, so we were just trying to peek out of cover and hit each other.

Even then, however, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a good experience with full length darts.

There were a few funny instances feeding multiple darts – but that’s user error. When you’re used to store bought pro blasters like the Nexus Pro X that have mechanisms locking the blaster in place until you fire, you don’t consider that other blasters might not have that lock. Point your blaster up without holding the front grip? You open the breech again and feed another dart.

More importantly, I was shooting *lasers* with the addition of a SCAR barrel. Even when the target was tiny (a head peeking out of cover), the darts I fired were within a few inches of the target. At that point, it’s just a matter of practice with the platform so that the player gets better.

Rate of fire is one dart per second at most (there’s no slamfire, and you have a long distance to move the priming grip), but with a 14″ barrel and a K25 spring, I was averaging 191fps. It would be slightly higher with short darts, and higher again if you’re using those short darts with a slightly tighter barrel.

Last Thoughts

I’m completely happy with this build. Sillybutts is a great designer, whether it’s something traditional or something meant to use shells to fire…whatever dart you want. Printing all the parts may have taken a while, but the setup for everything was easy, assembly was easy, and the end blaster worked perfectly. If you’re looking for a project blaster, even if you’re someone new to 3d printing your arsenal, it’s hard to go wrong here.