As many of you may not know, I'm a collector of Nerf guns. It started when I was young, my parents bought one for me and one for my brother and the collection grew from there. In this first review I'll be covering two guns, the IX-2 Break Barrel and the RV-10 Barracade. Both of which came with their own problems. To start things out I have two major problems between both guns, one literally shoots five feet and the other broke before its first use.
First up is the IX-2 Break Barrel.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ynWOAg4YQB0/TEmGSKs0DFI/AAAAAAAABuc/eERdgurptE8/s1600/Nerf+Barrel+Break+-+04.JPG
This gun is based off the design of a sawn-off shotgun. It holds two darts that can be fired either independently or together, depending on how the trigger is pulled. The weapon is loaded from a break action and ships with an ammo rack that fits onto most rails on N-Strike products and 10 Whistler darts and features one rail on the top. This blaster retails for $19.99 USD. The review on this could have been quite short, as soon as it was unwrapped it broke. Yes, it broke immediately. Something jammed inside the cocking mechanism and caused it to become permanently stuck in the open position. As I found out, this is a common problem happening in its first few uses. Luckily I was able to exchange it and the replacement works beautifully...so keep that receipt handy just in case.
One odd thing about the weapon is how the loading works in conjunction with the standard whistler darts that are packaged along with the blaster. They are a bit tricky to load due to their large head and soft foam tails, they are prone to being mashed while loading. A good replacement for these are standard suction-cup micro darts; easier to load and no difference in range. So try to pick up some of those and use them instead of the standard whistlers.
The second gun is the RV-10 Barricade.
http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/shop/details.cfm?guid=5598FF2F-5056-900B-10A3-7C917202BF8A&product_id=27683&src=endeca
A semi-automatic revolver type weapon also packaged with whistler darts; the gun takes three AA batteries and has a 10 round capacity. Retails for $19.99. Features one rail on it's top, fits most raid mods (It did not fit the ammo rail from the Break barrel, which is a shame since it would be perfect). This one packs a lot of potential but ultimately does not deliver quite what I expected. The blaster uses a different firing system of two wheels at the top and bottom of the base of the barrel. When the trigger is pulled a firing pin shoves the next dart into these gears where it is picked up and thrown out of the muzzle. No air pressure is used in the firing. This system comes with both its ups and down.
Up - Fast firing rate, just about as fast as you can pull the trigger.
Down - Noisy, the motor has to run to keep the wheels spinning (obviously). Darts are shot at a very low velocity, often going 5-10 feet with heavy arch.
What it does fail in its practicality it does make up for in style, and the fact it is packaged with a yellow retractable stock (Just like the one off the Raider) which can find a place on any other gun that supports a stock; the barricade does although it's hard to get on and doesn't server much purpose...a pistol with a stock? All in all, it's not that great of a gun, so unless you're absolutely in love with revolvers, are in dire need of a good sidearm for nerf wars or just really...REALLY want that yellow stock, skip this one.
Have questions, comments, hit me up.
Thanks for reading.
