The Triad EX-3 was released in 2013 in the blue color scheme. It was re-released the next year in white. The white color is supposed to shoot up to 90 feet instead of 75, but they have the same performance which is near 75 feet. I have the white one, but that does not matter unless you care about me having a certain color gun.
My biggest issue is the hard trigger pull. (I know I am being very happy by starting with the cons.)
I like how it is a very small yet very effective gun for tertiary or pistol rounds. In a Jolt vs. Triad fight, Triad would win because after the Jolt fired a shot they would have to reload. The Triad guy could come up and shoot the Jolt guy. That is why I like Triad EX-3.
The Nerf Rival Artemis is my first Rival, and it is a good first impression. It comes with 30 balls for its integrated mags but can hold more.
The Artemis is harder to cock than a dart blaster. I’m guessing it has something to do with being a Rival. I expect the same to be with Atlas, and I know it is with Apollo. My friend has one. It has slam-fire, but I cannot do it well. The one tactical rail can fit the normal N-Strike accessories but not as well as the tactical rails on the normal Nerf guns. Its range is about 75 feet. That is supposedly how far the Elites fire, but they only get about 60-70 feet. This has good accuracy like all Rivals. It could probably be a sniper, too. Artemis is very comfortable to hold but has a slightly hard trigger pull. Also, the barrels rotate.
As far as I can tell, it has two problems:
Sometimes it doesn’t fire, and the next time it fires two balls at once.
The balls are hard to remove without shooting.
Artemis uses a slide on the magazines to put in the balls. The holes are little so the balls don’t fall out if you shake it upside down.
I really like the Artemis and will probably be getting Nemesis once it is released.
Mega Mastodon is an awesome gun! First off, this thing is huge. It measures 31 inches long, 1 foot tall and 8 inches wide. I don’t know if it was necessary to make it so large. The area in front of the drum probably did not have to be so big. The battery compartment is quite large which brings me to my next point.
Mega Mastodon requires six D batteries to operate. That also adds to the expense of the gun. Being so big, the strap is somewhat necessary. I thought the strap was a just to make it seem bigger so more people would buy it. However, the strap is a good addition because it is heavy.
For the base I built out of boxes, I use Mega Mastodon as a turret to defend the base. I just run behind the wall and fire Mega Mastodon which is sitting on the central box.
Performance-wise, Mega Mastodon is great. It shoots quite far and is also the biggest and heaviest Nerf gun. The Vulcan previously held those records. It is not as long as the Centurion, though. I like it very well, despite its size, and I would recommend it for anybody who wants a big machine gun.
The Hyperfire was released in fall 2016 along with the Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike, Rival Khaos, and Mega Mastodon. On New Years Day, I played Capture the Flag with my friends. There were two ways to win. You either touched the pole at the other team’s base or shot the players on the other team. This is much more reliable than my Rapidstrike, which I got for Christmas, along with the Triad EX-3.
It requires four D batteries. Hyperfire only has one short tactical rail which is not very tactical. This definitely works better than my Rapidstrike but the design of the Rapidstrike is so much better. Hyperfire is very balanced because the batteries are in the back and the front is heavy. This could be the successor of the Rampage as well as the Rapidstrike. The Rampage is also made for high ROF which is why it comes with at 25 dart drum. You may have heard reports of Rampage jams. Those jams are uncommon in the Hyperfire. Overall, I would highly recommend this gun and the only flaw is the accuracy.
In 2013 for Christmas, I got the Lego Harry Potter Hogwarts along with The Knight Bus. It comes with seven Minifigures. They are Professor Sprout, Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Gregory Goyle, Nevile Longbottom, a dementor and Lucius Malfoy. The set is 466 pieces.
Hogwarts
There are three parts. The bridge and two towers. The bottom of the towers feature the dungeons.
The dungeon with the Room of Requirement above it.
On the right tower, there is the Room of Requirement which does not have anything in it.
The Room of Requirement
Above it is Lupin’s office.
His unnecessary of office.
On the top, is the Mirror of Erised.
The Mirror
On the other tower, we have more dungeons,
Does Hogwarts ever have prisoners?
Gryffindor common rooms,
I wish the commons were like Hogwarts 4842.
the astronomy tower,
No telescope?!
and divination room.
The cups are for tea leaves.
The bridge has a cool feature. When the Death Eaters set fire to Hogwarts, it seems they would do it to the bridge. There are flame pieces that push the loose bricks covering the bridge away. It looks like the bridge is on fire.
The bridge mechanism. It should have 3 flame pieces but I lost one.
This Hogwarts can also connect to Hogwarts 4842. You can switch parts around like putting the two towers next to each other and the bridge on one side. The only problem is that the rooms are somewhat small. There are only 68 studs on each floor. You have to subtract studs for each Lego that is placed down, too. Also, I don’t understand why Lupin has an office there. He had resigned in year 3. Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by Amycus Carrow. Those are most of the cons I can think of.
Overall, it is a good set, and I would recommend you get it.
The Maverick Nerf N-Strike is a gun that works well, but not as well as the Nerf N-Strike Elite Strongarm. The Maverick: The Strongarm
The first thing you should know: the Maverick is old. It is the predecessor of the Strongarm. Just like the Recon is the predecessor of the Retaliator. It is not as powerful or as durable as the Strongarm. Another flaw of the Maverick is it lacks Slamfire. Slamfire is where you hold down on the trigger while cocking it. In a fight with the Strongarm versus Maverick, Strongarm would probably win. The Maverick fires about 25 yards. The darts in the Maverick are also hard to pull out. Unlike the Strongarm, where the edges of the darts are exposed, the only way to get out the darts is to pull them out by the tip. The Strongarm and Maverick both have one tactical rail, but they vary in placement. The Maverick’s tactical rail is on the cocking mechanism. The one on the Strongarm is above the barrel. The tactical rail on the Strongarm is much more convenient. You can read a review of the Strongarm on The Paper Master. Overall, the looks of the Maverick are better than that of the Strongarm, but the Strongarm is better.
All pieces are compatible with the Modulus™ series. It comes with the gun, stock, barrel extension, and handle. It has one tactical rail on the cocking piece and two on the barrel extension. The gun shoots farther without the barrel extension. Without it, the darts tend to corkscrew.
The accuracy is so good that I hit someone in a Nerf gun fight right in the head about 15 feet away. That was without using a scope. That is hard because Nerf guns do not have the best accuracy. The Retaliator also uses a direct plunger to fire the darts, unlike the Tri-Strike which uses a reverse plunger.
Direct plunger
Reverse plunger
The action of the Retaliator is also very smooth. Now, for some special features:
On the barrel extension, there is a little feature that helps target at what you are firing.
In the handle, there is room for an extra dart.
The extra handle has two lengths.
One of the cons I found was some paint was chipped off on the stock. I ordered the gun from Amazon. That was included in the reviews, but it does not affect the performance.
This is a review of the Nerf Modulus Tri-Strike. I would overall rate it 4 ½ out of 5 stars because the stock and the missile launcher are connected. I did order the Nerf Retaliator for a stock.
I have tested the accuracy and rated it 85%. It would be good in a battle because that was against small targets. The accuracy against large targets would estimate 97% with the Elite darts.
Fighting my sister with the Tri-Strike
The Mega darts have a 60% accuracy overall. The missile does not shoot very far. The blaster can come apart into 4 pieces (Including the stock and missile launcher as one.)
The Tri-Strike in its separate parts
The Tri-Strike comes with a ten-dart clip, ten Elite darts four Megas, and one missile. I would recommend buying extra missiles because it only comes with one. If you plan to use the missile, you will definitely need the refill. The refill comes with three missiles and is right here.
With all of the pieces that come with the Tri-Strike, the gun will weigh about 4 pounds. I can use it just fine, and I am 10-years old. I would recommend it for 8+. I did get a bullet stuck in it. I think since it is a Modulus there has to be some cons to it. Also, using the jam door requires you to cock the gun back. I might just be handling it, roughly, though. It has jammed multiple times but none as hard as that time. I can’t get it out. My friend at The Paper Master fixed it. Overall, I think it isa good gun despite the fact it was jammed.
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The Strongarm
Jots by John 