Nerf N-Strike Recon CS6

My nephew got one of these about a month ago and it’s been a favourite plaything for a while now. The stock is a bit flimsy, the “tactical light/laser” is a joke, the sight needs to be mounted on the back of the receiver, and the flip-up sight is pointless. But it’s a fun toy. And it’s pretty much a carbine that fires soft squishy pinkish orange darts. (They’re so soft and squishy that they don’t last for long. It’s a bit like an inkjet printer. The device doesn’t cost much, but the consumables end up costing you.)

He was a total fumbler with it at first. Struggling to get the magazine out, getting rounds jammed up inside it, pointing the muzzle at his face as he struggled with it, switching hands as he tried to manipulate it. No good.

First thing I taught him was safe firearms handling. Finger off the trigger, assume it’s always loaded, be aware at all times where the muzzle is pointed, and be certain of your target and what is beyond it. It took a lot of drilling to get those concepts into his head. “How am I supposed to shoot it if I can’t put my finger on the trigger?” But I made sure he understood those concepts entirely. As much a it may be argued that it’s merely a toy, I’d rather inculcate those concepts into his head now.

Then I moved on to how to hold it, aim it, use the sights, correct stance. I showed him how to remove the magazine (“Keep holding it in your right hand, use your left hand and pull the bolt back. Now take your index finger on your right hand and pull back the magazine release catch.”) Then I showed him how to clear jams. (“Pull back the bolt, flip up the flap and check the chamber. Can you push the round into the chamber? If so push it forward, close the flap and push the bolt forward. Rock on! Or if the round is jammed, pull back the magazine release catch and remove the magazine. Remove the round, reinsert the magazine and rock on!”) I had a prototype sling that I put it on it and showed him how to use it. From there I showed him how to move and shoot, do quick reloads, use cover, etc. If he had a Nerf pistol I would have showed him how to do transition drills.

I’ll have him ready for the zombie onslaught. :-)

As we were walking along that morning he said “See uncle Thomas. My finger isn’t on the trigger. And I’m making sure to point it in a safe direction.” Good lad.

He seems to dig the bandoleer, but I can tell he digs some of the rigs I have even more. I may have to sew him up a special one with pouches sized just for Nerf magazines, dump pouch, the whole deal.

Which I did.

Nerf’mups

Lego – M-13 Carbine

After noodling around with some blasters for a big mecha-robot I want to make, I refined some of those ideas to look a bit like a modern carbine.

It features all the usuals – muzzle brake, back up iron sights, adjustable stock, vertical fore grip, variable mode light, holographic sight.

Detachable holographic sight and box magazine.

The light is an all in one infared laser designator, infared light emitter, variable lumen and variable colour mode incandescent light.

Fun little project. Like all other Lego creations, I love walking that balance beam of trying to make something that is recognizable to someone as what I intended it to look like, what the parts as they exist allow me to do, what will function structurally, what I have available to me, what my imagination can come up with, etc. I may have said it before, but it’s just a great mental workout.

I kept trying to make the receiver as thin as possible. Lego has a 1x1 brick with an axle hole in it (part #6541), but being an axle hole it allows everything to spin. I wish they had a 1x1 with a keyhole in it (ie a hole that locks an axle element in place) but for whatever reason this doesn’t exist and I can’t really deduce a good reason why it doesn’t exist. There is however a 1x2 brick with a keyhole in it (part #32064), so I used it. Makes for a much wider receiver than I really wanted, but it did make for a very solid structure. All my efforts to keep it thin, meant a very weak structure. The stock is also much wider than I wanted, but once again the limitations of the pieces that exist, and that I had access to dictated the end result.