XM198 Vulture Completed

Painted, mounted the cycle control switch, and wired it up.

This switch install uses a custom bent actuator (from a flat lever type) designed to increase the switch duration versus a standard roller lever. The use of the full size micro and custom actuator will likely be added to future conventional RS FCG builds along with the direct micro trigger.

Finished product.

More images.

Something a bit crazy

When planning a build, one of the things that I like to do is to make a tape-and-hotglue mockup of the finished blaster to confirm that it works ergonomically. This is such a mockup.

In case it isn't easy to see in this picture, that's a Demolisher with a cut-down Stryfe on the side; there's one on the other side, too. The pusher mechanisms are to be linked internally such that all three component blasters can fire at once; I also intend to add extra notches to the magazines so that they can sit in the magwells without firing. The stock is going to be replaced with something that can hold two large battery packs - probably either a Nitron stock or something fabricated. My goal is to make something that looks unmodified to people who aren't familiar with Nerf.

This is, perhaps needless to say, unconventional, but there are some good reasons that motivate this build.

Vulture Progress 3

Installed motors

Fabbed endbell covers

Bent up some sheet for the front grip hook

Installed

 

Patched grip hole

Muzzle device for this is a small (fake) suppressor.

Mockup

Magwell front block, screw installed and shaped

Primer has been sprayed and is drying.

To do:
Paint
Mount and time cycle control switch
Wire
Wreck Rayvens!

Shelf Watch 01-10-15 Orlando, Florida SODO Target

Latest wave of Nerf products have dropped.


Mega Bigshock

Mega Cycloneshock

ZombieStrike Flipfury

New, as far as I can tell, are a bunch of Zuru X-Shot products.

Xcess 2-pack

Micro 2-pack with cans

Excel Darts, Zuru's version of this dart

Micro & Vigilante pack

Micro & Scope pack

Bird Is The Word. Vulture Progress 2

Last night I got this trigger group sorted. This is a direct full-size micro, it travels about 1/8", feels like an arcade button, and is by far the best trigger I have ever done. I used the stock Rayven trigger and cut nothing, and the switch body is backed against the inside of the grip. Trigger travel is restrained by a piece of PVC in front, since this was a semi-auto the stock travel was too far forward.

Begin day 2 of the build, January 1, 2015. I picked off most of the plastics fabrication chores. Here's what it looked like before, notice the carry handle went missing.

Cheek rest area had a large hole to patch.

The removed carry handle piece with rail:

And the plan:

This shroud rail is superfluous. Well, I'm not just going to leave the damn thing there.

Perhaps I will leave this hole, though. Barrel shroud ventilation hole under the carry handle?

Base of the new front carry handle standoff:

Blurry image, but that follows the receiver angles

Devcon carry handle to old front standoff, now new rear standoff and rear sight mount:

Mock up new standoff pieces

Finished carry handle/top rail install

Needs some trimming and sanding of those rough standoff pieces

Result

Started dealing with old grip situation

Fabricated stock/buttplate. 2" Schedule 40 pipe into sheet. Thick and solid. Grooves freehand with grinder

Replaced that missing side cover with a PVC one

Side view of all that.

Mocked up battery position. I considered locating the pack above the pusher box as well as under the stock area, but that was all wrong for weight distribution, not to mention tight, and in a way, this is not a "clean" build. It's a quick and dirty secondary rig. It's not a Tacmod and it will never have perfect balance and handling like a Tacmod and I didn't want to build it a custom pack or deal with charge connectors. And I had this 2S 1600mAh pack already, so done.

 

I will be getting nowhere on this for at least a week while I am away from Site B, so here it stands.

To do:
Motor endbell covers
Front grip addition (to hook the support hand like a P90 to avoid getting it in front of the muzzle)
Muzzle device - suppressor?
Mount and time cycle control switch
Install screw and shape front of magwell
Fence magwell
Patch hole in heel of grip
Bondo/Sand/Paint
Install FKs
Wire
Wreck Rayvens!

Rapid^2 DESTROYED! Project Vulture Progress

I have a new RS which was going to be the base for my bullpup build, but instead I decided to do a little garbage collection. This may bother some of you but I am not a nerf collector. That goes for random practically useless guns, and it goes for old projects and experiments.

One was this Rapidstrike with underslung Rapidstrike:

I had given this a shot back before I had the build specs nailed down, and before the Tacmod existed. Just like the RapidSwarm, it isn't necessary. I would rather have a Tacmod. I get more kills with a Tacmod than with monstrosities like this.

Now, I had been trying to sell this thing for about a year, with little response, and in the meantime it was getting scavved for parts to repair squad guns. So it was junked out.

Practical Stock Class: Full Auto

Let's talk about fully automatic fire in stock class nerf.

To begin with, for those few people who aren't aware:

"A [fully automatic weapon] continuously fires rounds as long as the trigger is pressed and held and there is ammunition in the magazine."

Full auto has had a serious presence in stock class for as long as stock class has existed. In that time it has gained supporters and detractors and has created some myths and misguided ideas of its use. So has its counterpart, semi-automatic fire; and of course, the alternative to both of those which (for primaries) is pump-action. At the same time, the proper use of full auto is a skill, to a greater degree than using semi-auto.

Warning: This will be a long and imageless post.

Shelf Watch: 12-24-14 Iowa

This is the "Not from Florida" Shelf Watch I hinted at. Picked up a Target and a Bed, Bath & Beyond in the Midwest while visiting family...

Target: Nothing special. Standard NSE and ZS stuff, standard Boomco incursion.

Once again, zero Rampages. And no, there weren't any EATs either. Cough, maybe it's a good time to switch to auto, cough.

Only odd find was the latest Buzzbee shenanigan:

(note unrelated price tag which is for a Nerf RS)

Tek... 6X??? So what's the X?

Looks like a 3G Tek 6 to me. Range claim is 30' so it's probably not performance related.

BBB: Marshmallow Fun Company stuff

Marshmallow Blaster

Marshmallow Mini Bow

And a Zing bow knockoff of some type:

Appears unrelated to Zing. Arrow design is similar to Zing bows. Only claims 50' for range.