There are others who have their favorite blogger, but I think MyLastDart (MLD) was the greatest blogger in the NIC. I say "was" because he rarely posts anymore. I think that he has too little time to blog, and the interesting information that he does have that he can share is hushed up by his NDA.R.I.P. MLD.
However, his blog is still online, and we can still glean information from it; much like how we can glean info from Nerf Mods & Reviews. I hunted down this old blog post from two years ago that seems most applicable due to the Rival line leaking.
I'll show my findings after the big drop.
Although the Rival line might have come as a massive surprise to most, I had been expecting it ever since that article two years ago.
MLD wrote:
(His spelling/grammar errors, not mine)Hasbro not being one to backdown so easy, also have an additional patent for foam ball-sized projectiles. Pretty much you can expect them to be Nerf Vortex discette material. They don't hurt anymore than an Elite dart at point blank, a slight sting, but no pain no gain people?
Over two years ago, Hascorp had patented "foam ball-sized projectiles" that would probably be "Nerf Vortex discette material". Doesn't that sound a lot like those "Foam Rounds" that the Rival blasters use?
Ok, so what if we knew about the Rival ammunition two years in advance? It's not the ammunition that matters so much; it's what uses that ammunition that is so exciting. This post wasn't about a mysterious new type of ammo; it was about a Gatling-gun-style blaster that uses those balls.
So it's been on the cards for sometime now, and in development due to a heavy demand from a fans, but inspired by several gatling gun Vulcan vids. It's been a labour of love for the Engineers and Design teams, but there is just one hiccup - a major one in fact. The Paintballs themselves are prone to damage or worse damaged to the point they explode inside the blaster - causing jams. This was actually a make-or-break factor.
(Again, I’m just quoting his post with all its errors.)
They had to build a blaster and ammunition that would work together; they have the compact foam balls. But what about the blaster? Did it go the way of the Stampede ECS-50's drum?
No. *Knock Knock* Think, McFly.
The Zeus and Apollo are the opening act blasters for the Rival series, nothing more. This series is just getting started!
So, how will this mystery Gatling blaster work?
It's something they are looking at but with diminished results due to the nature of the Paintballs not being able to handle the high rate of fire (they eventually crack and break inside the drum/blaster causing major jams). They have created foam-balls which achieve a similar result [to the paintballs flight, not their breakage]. The blaster can handle around 100-300 rounds, with an unseen Repetitive 5 Stack-Rerack Smart Internal System (you could hold the trigger and unload up to 5 consecutive rounds, i.e if you only fire 3 rounds, and then wait, it will reset the counter to allow you to continue a renewed 5 burst cycle).
(His words, but [my note])
100-300 shots? Dang, if they make it with a detachable hopper that can get plugged into another Rival blaster, people would be getting this just for the magazine!
So, this will be a 5-barrelled blaster that will fire in bursts of up to 5 rounds, and would hopefully not take too long between bursts. Wait-a-moment, let's look at the pix he posted!
Woah! There are 6 barrels! That means that this could have 6-round cycles, and maybe a more constant firing mode!
Since the only pictures we have of this beast are patent pictures, I have had to come up with my own ideas. I have drawn three pictures on MS Paint to depict what I think this beast will be: a Vulcan-esque turret that can be used for walking-fire, sorta like that minigun that one SHIELD/HYDRA dude was carrying in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
My apologies for the watermarks, but I don't want somebody plagiarizing my hard work.
I only drew this with a classic trigger/grip (Vulcan-esque), but I’m hoping that they make this with both Vulcan and butterfly grips.
That would look sorta like a Nintendo 64 controller!
Original post here.
What do you think? Do you like my art? Gripes? Leave a comment.
Maniacal Coyote
Nothin' Foam
nothingfoam.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment