After a busy summer of work and a BRUTAL fall semester, I finally have some time for my blog. And man, oh man, have I got some catching up to do!
More after the big drop.
At the end of the Spring Semester, I swung by a thrift shop and picked up a handful of old blasters, including a Mega-caliber Tech Target Eliminator. Note: This blaster fires vintage Mega darts, not modern MEGA darts. Apart from looking for a Crayola marker I could cannibalize, I didn't do anything to it until my break.
With a ton of CPVC pipe and nothing to do with it, I made a singled Micro barrel and a speedloader for the Eliminator. It doesn't fire lasers, but it's pretty powerful.
Right before Finals week started, I was browsing eBay and found a used Nerf Crossbow for a fairly low price.
<Rant>
This is the 1995 Action Nerf Crossbow, made by the Kenner division of the Tonka Toy Company. Not a Big Bad Bow. Not a Star Wars Bowcaster. Definitely not the 1991 "Bow'N'Arrow". The actual Crossbow. When I look on eBay for Xbows, I type in "Nerf Crossbow -rebel -rebelle -star -bowcaster -65 -crossbolt -bad -zombie -crossfire" and a whole bunch of other tags that I don't want. Because EVERYBODY LISTS ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY BOWLIKE AS A NERF CROSSBOW! I've had people list Big Bad Bows as "Used Nerf Crossbow" and told them that they needed to change their listing name.
<end rant>
Anyway, I managed to win the auction and pay just $107 for it shipped. A lot, but not as much as the $200 - $300 some idiots were asking.
Anyway, when it arrived, it was in mediocre condition. Picture below.
Owner #1 had modified it to Level 2 (Barrel relocated to the front with some of the original tubing) and secured it with hot glue. Then, Owner #2, "Urban_Devil" on eBay, had tried to straighten the barrel with some Erector Set pieces when the yellow front piece broke from the strain. And, somebody had tied the dart holder from an Expand-A-Blast onto the blaster with some thick plastic thread. I removed said dart holder with the same tool I used to open the package, my trusty toadsticker.
Some plier work and the rubber hose came out too. Unfortunately, the Erector Set pieces were rusted together, and the bolt's head was stripped. So, I went to the supply cabinet and got some Liquid Wrench. Slight endorsement: it works well for dealing with nuts and bolts that are stuck together.
Anyway, I opened things up and laid out my components. On the inside, the Xbow looks remarkably like a super-sized Nitefinder. No, seriously.
I cannot think of a simpler rifle-type springer than this. Even with the original barrel on the end of tubing, it is simple. No air restrictors, no smart-AR array, no locks, no breech, nothing extraneous.
Rather than worry about getting a perfect cut on a 1/2" PVC coupler, I cheated and used a 1/2"-3/4" S/S reducing bushing that I hot glued to the plunger tube. I then wrapped a strip of electrical tape around a 1/2" CPVC coupler and used it to load my barrels. No elegance needed here.
When I finished, I switched out the barrel for a similarly sized length of PEX that I had picked up on a mission trip to New Jersey to help rebuild a house leveled by Sandy.
With that, I had two working high-power primaries, alongside my Longshot and Alpha Trooper.
However, I really didn't like having to manipulate the barrels whenever I wanted to reload, so I built an RSCB for each compatable primary.
Yeah. It's pretty awesome. I'm ready to go to the next DNC (Davis Nerf Club) war and pick people off from 100+ feet with my 4B, and make jaws drop with my Xbow.
Until next time.
All photos are my own work.
Maniacal Coyote
Nothin' Foam
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