Hasbro Moves To Boston!

Looks like Hasbro finally decided to move!

In case you missed it, Hasbro has been deciding whether or not to move from Providence to Boston – no doubt in an effort to see what kinds of incentives they could get in the process, like any large corporation would. Now, however, it’s official. By next year, Hasbro will be taking up an office building in the Seaport District in downtown Boston, with 700 employees transitioning there from Rhode Island. Digital assets and a few other things will remain based on the west coast.

We’ll have to see how things shake up over the next year. One can hope Hasbro will host something in Boston in the future.

Buzz Bee Air Warriors Mayhem Ruin Review

This was a surprise for me. Buzz Bee has always offered tiny blasters, from the original and weak Tek 3 (move the cylinder yourself as an extra step) to the more recent, more robust single-shot Panther. The farthest shooting one was the Duel Shot 2-pack, itself an upgrade to the Air Warriors Gem…but those were at least nominally larger.

The Air Warriors Mayhem Ruin seems to want to do the best of both worlds. For $3, you’re getting a tiny blaster where nearly the entire body space is taken up by a clear plunger tube. In stock form, due to the short barrel design, the performance is okay at best. But given the fact that it’s $3, it’s hard to beat being able to throw off shots in such quick fashion. Even with the tiny handle, it’s far from the worst thing I’ve held in terms of comfort. And with a little love, you can get the performance it *should* be getting.

Continue reading

Buzz Bee Air Warriors Mayhem Mania Review

The Mayhem line is finally here! We knew that Buzz Bee was making a revamped blaster line, and some of them are appearing at Dollar General here in the United States. Now that I’ve tried the first one, though…it seems a bit less exciting.

The Mania is an eight dart, front-loading pistol that’s easy in operation and shoots well. However, the decision to make a large, sloped grip with a large kink in it results in an uncomfortable experience.

Continue reading

And Here’s the Rest of the Wilder Toys Care Package!

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s at least highlight the other two items I got sent by Wilder Toys. They’re not as unique as the Nerf 360° Battlezone or as, um, customizable as the Nerf Zombie Spin Strike, but they’re cool as well. Especially the glasses.

The Neostrike tactical glasses look cool compared to lots of past Nerf eyewear, and (in an improvement on past Nerf licensed accessories) are at least Z87 rated. Granted, you’ll want higher ratings if you’re shooting well above stock Nerf velocities…but for a regular consumer they’re a super neat option. And they’re UV rated if you want to use them outside of foam combat.

Also, the flexible nose pads are SO comfortable!

The Inflatable trainer target, meanwhile, serves as both target and dart catcher. Assuming, of course, you’re good enough to score in the target holes. It also comes with one of the 3M hanging hooks and adhesive strips, so you can mount it after inflation (I’m personally full of hot air when needed, but you can use a pump if you have one handy). It’s also a nice size for testing general accuracy at distance, as it turns out. I’ve hung this up on my back fence (~80′ away from the back door) as a reference for other blasters.

I’m personally still waiting to see these in stores, but I’m more than happy to buy a few pairs of glasses once they’re available.

Xshot Blastercorn Big Rizz Review

One of the silliest but most fun things to be released last year was the Xshot Blastercorn pistol. It took a theme and embraced it while still delivering on performance. Now, Zuru has apparently decided to make it a sub-line, because we now have the Blastercorn Big Rizz.

If you were aching for a blaster that resembles a full size unicorn (complete with flapping wings and a glowing horn), the wait is over! If you weren’t…it’s still a silly fun blaster that any age person can enjoy. Seriously, any age.

Continue reading

Nerf Zombie Spin Strike Review + Mod

Note: this got sent to me for free by Wilder Toys. Thanks, guys!

I’ll be honest: after reviewing the Nerf 360° Battlezone, I was going to combine the rest of the accessories from Wilder Toys into a single post. However, things didn’t work out that way – after barely getting to touch the Zombie Spin Strike, some pieces were aggressively loved by a four legged roommate of mine. I had already entertained the idea of replacing the targets with other pictures just for the laughs, but that gave me the excuse I needed. The result? A project that’s funny, kinda cute, and ended up being way more useful.

Oh, and the target set itself is fine, too. I just took something that wasn’t quite my thing and…made it my thing. Just keep reading!

Continue reading

Adventure Force Brute Pro Review

Note: Dart Zone was kind enough to send me a free sample for review!

Yet again, Dart Zone has a new release, filling a new niche in the pro space that wasn’t on store shelves. This time, they’ve brought mag-in-grip springers to Walmart with the Brute Pro. So far, I’ve seen reviews ranging from relatively glowing to thinking it’s terrible. My experience so far? It’s exciting and does its job, but it’s definitely not perfect – and initial results may depend on which country you get it from.

Continue reading