Making an Absolver Compatible Shotgun – Modification Write Up

Goals and Aims

Following up on the yesterday’s post detailing how to make an Absolver, I thought it was necessary to write another post on how to modify your blaster to use those Absolvers effectively.

This write-up will use the Tripleshot as an example to show the reader how to make full use of Absolvers.

Inputs and Tools required

  • A piece of 20mm conduit (5cm is a good length)
  • A Tripleshot Plunger Tube (or even a BBUMB if that’s what you want to use. The same principles of this guide still apply)
  • Qbond + Qbond black powder (or other adhesive that can create and airtight seal)
  • A Dremel with a grinding bit
  • Pipecutters
  • Personal Protection Equipment (Eye protection and gloves)

Modification Guide

Take note of the Absolvers: the piece that is intended to attach to the blaster is a 20mm conduit coupler. Logic would tell us that we need some 20mm conduit to attach it to!

Get yourself a piece of 20mm conduit. The first thing you’ll notice is that it does not fit over the lip of the TS plunger tube  or over the end of the black pipe on the BBUMB. The only solution is to grind down the inside of the conduit until it fits. Use your Dremel and grinding bit to get the job done. Be sure not to grind it down too much though, you want a good friction fit (The piece of conduit shouldn’t fall off if you let it go).

IMG_0443This is what it should look like when it’s done. Keep in mind that the Conduit is flush with the surface of the plunger tube.

IMG_0446The piece of conduit looks a bit long now, doesn’t it? This would create deadspace and deadspace isn’t good for your blasters. So get your pipe cutters and cut the piece of conduit down to about 3cm. I found this to be the best length to use that balances amount of deadspace and ease of loading and removing the Absolvers.

Now you need to secure the conduit to the plunger tube. I used Qbond and the black powder that acts as a filler and sealer. You could easily use epoxy or something, but if you’re going to use an alternative, make sure it’s a good adhesive. You want this to stick.

IMG_0448Be generous with securing the conduit – this piece is going to be pulled and twisted and tugged quite often considering what it’s for. Mine ended up looking like this.

IMG_0449With that done, you can now reassemble your TS (or BBUMB)! Do note, with the TS, I used a 13kg Spring nested in a stock Longshot spring. That will give you the 50ft you want.

Now you have a working Shotgun to use as a Commando!

Final Thoughts

This modification was even easier than making the Absolvers themselves. Most Nerfers will have no trouble following this guide.

From my experience, the loading is very smooth and quite easy. Commandos will be a force with this sort of blaster at their side.

IMG_0450To end this guide, here’s a test firing video of my Shotgun. Enjoy!

Echoes.

 

 

 

 

Making an Absolver – Modification Write Up

Goals and Aims

With Foam Fortress: Sydney gearing up, as well as the emergence of the Commando as a very viable Class, it’s about time we started having some proper Shotguns on the field. But you can’t really have a proper shotgun without Absolvers – multiple barrel attachments that allow your blaster to fire a volley of darts at once.

This write-up intends to help the reader construct a six-shot Absolver that will allow blasters like the Triple Shot and the BBUMB to reach 50ft flat (the maximum range for Shotguns in FF:S) with the entire spread.

Inputs and Tools required

  • 25-20mm PVC reducer
  • 20mm Conduit coupler
  • 45cm of 16mm conduit
  • Electrical Tape
  • Q-bond (Or other superglue)
  • Foam blanks or other suitable filler material.
  • Hotglue + Hotglue gun
  • Ruler
  • Marker
  • Pipe cutter
  • Scissors
  • Knife or blade
  • A cloth of some sort

Modification Guide

Step 1. The Cradle.

First, you’ll want to start work on the Reducer and the Coupler. The Reducer will act as a cradle of sorts for the three barrels while the Coupler will be used as the attachment point between the blaster and the Absolver itself. The aim here is to nest them into each other with the help of some Electrical Tape.

IMG_0421Wrap one end of the Coupler in Electrical Tape until it fits snugly into the 20mm section of the Reducer. The amount of tape might take some trial and error, but you’ll get it right eventually. Always apply a little extra, then remove what you don’t need from there.

IMG_0422Next, you’ll want to nest the two fittings so that they appear flush like in the picture below.

IMG_0423As you can see, the 20mm conduit Coupler is pretty much flush with the end of the 20mm section of the PVC Reducer.

With the two parts fitted together, we must ensure that they never come apart while you’re using them (It’s pretty important that these things stay together). Grab your superglue and drop some into the gap between the Coupler and Reducer. The electrical tape will create a platform for the glue to actually set on, holding the two pieces together.

IMG_0424Take note of that small gap visible in this picture. This is where you’ll be wanting to drip the superglue into.

Now that the superglue has cured (It really shouldn’t take any longer than 10 seconds for it to fully set), you can now seal the gap over to prevent any air escaping. Hotglue isn’t my favourite adhesive, but it was quick and easy and it really isn’t holding anything together. So just put some hotglue into and over the gap.

IMG_0429Now you’ve pretty much completed work on the “Cradle” for now. Next up, the barrels!

Step 2. The Barrels

This type of Absolver only allows for three 16mm conduit barrels. To maximise the performance and capacity of the absolver itself, we will use three 15cm long barrels so that we can load two stock sized darts per barrel for a six dart spread. Measure them out and cut them with a pipe cutter. Don’t forget to ream out one end of each barrel for easier loading and smoother firing.

IMG_0425Next, we need to tape these barrels together so that they hold their configuration. This way it’ll be much easier to fit all three into the Cradle at once. Apply a couple of wraps of tape at approximately the 7.5cm mark and the 12cm mark of the barrels. Make sure you wrap the tape on the reamed end of the conduit as shown below.

IMG_0428But before you go shoving your barrels into the Cradle, we need to seal an airhole that will render this whole setup useless. Flip the barrels over to the un-reamed end and you’ll see a sort-of-triangular shaped gap. This hole runs all the way through to the other side and if left there, will allow air to escape. This means no shotgun blast.

IMG_0430

Fill it with hotglue. No hole is going to stop us from Shotgun glory. Once the hotglue cures, cut away any excess with a blade.

IMG_0431IMG_0432

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your barrels are complete. Time to finish this Absolver!

Step 3. Combining the Cradle and the Barrels.

JAM THOSE MOFO’S TOGETHER (make sure you jam the un-reamed ends of the barrels into the cradle, not the other way around!). No seriously, you need to put a tiny bit of muscle into this. It’s a bit of a tight fit so you might need to use a bit of your weight to do it. I put a cloth over the top of the barrels and put the cradle onto my desk, then PUSHED them in. They should “creak” a little until they finally slot into place. Once they stop creaking, check to see that the un-reamed ends of the barrels are sitting almost flush on the end of the 25mm section of the Reducer. It’s hard to illustrate in a picture… mainly because my camera wouldn’t focus on it…

IMG_0433But this is how it should look once you’ve jammed the parts together.

Now it’s time to fill in some more gaps! As you can see in the picture above, there are some pretty big gaps between the Cradle and the Barrels. These massive gaps will act as passages for air to escape – again meaning no shotgun blast. So we’d better get something in there. Sounds like a job for hotglue! But first…

IMG_0435IMG_0436

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a foam blank cut into quarters and just jammed 3 of those pieces into the holes. You could easily do the same with a stock dart. The reason I did this was to act as a base for the hotglue to sit on while it cured.

With the foam jammed in, it’s time to seal the holes shut with some generous amounts of hotglue. Make sure there are no gaps in the glue anywhere, and also go over the edges where the conduit barrels touch the sides of the Reducer.

IMG_0437Once the hotglue cures, you’re done! You now have one Absolver to use with your Tripleshot or BBUMB.

Final Thoughts

This “Mod” was fairly simple. It’s more a game of patience than skill in my opinion. Why is it a game of patience? Well because what good is ONE Absolver? You’ll probably need well over TEN to be any sort of effective in a game of Foam Fortress: Sydney. It becomes a matter of whether you can sit there and churn them out one by one until you get enough.

Testing with my BBUMB, there is definitely a fantastic spread and it does indeed reach the 50ft mark. These will make for great pieces of Equipment for the Commando.

Look out for a follow up write up of how to make your blaster compatible with these particular Absolvers.

IMG_0438Credits

Thanks to Cheyne “Nog” Lambert and Nick “BFG” McKenna for walking me through the design basics of this particular kind of Absolver. Also thanks to Craig “Blastedgnu” Berson and Raymond “Kat” Cheung for some additional information and insight into what materials I should be using and how I should be applying them. And thanks to Psychosis for the provision of the conduit.

Thanks for reading the write up, and I hope to see a few Commandos running around at the next war!

Echoes.

Dart Hire – A New System

Dart Hire, for those who are unaware, is a system where a large quantity of darts is purchased and owned by one (or more if they so choose) individual(s), which is then rented out to the community for a set rental fee at each war. It functions as a convenient way for community members to have enough ammunition for wars at all times without constantly having to replace their own darts that are spoilt or lost at events. It acts to bridge the gap between the newb and the veteran, allowing for all participants to compete respectably. For Sydney’s community, the Dart Hire system acted as an impetus for its growth into what we see today.

As some of you may know, the Dart Hire system has been suffering from a severe shortage in one of the key constituents of a dart itself: Blue Foam. Finally, thanks to VelocityTag, the foam has arrived and the system can return to its prime. However, with this new foam comes an update to the Dart Hire system as detailed below.

Registration

Dart Hire will now be performed in a more formal manner. Now, before you are able to gain access to the box, you must register and prepay at the Admin Desk. Here is where your name will be marked off, allowing you access to the box. It is also here where you will be asked a question about the General Rules Set (and in the future, the FF:S rules sets). Answering this question correctly will grant you a discount.

Price

In the past, Dart Hire’s fee was $10 for unlimited hire for the day. As of the release of this document, the price has been increased by 50% to $15 with a capped limit as to how many darts can be taken from the box at a time (Explained below). However this will not always be the final price. As outlined above, if you are able to answer a question correctly about the General Rules Set (and in the future, the FF:S rules sets), you will receive a $5 discount. This means that if you are well informed about the rules, you will never have to pay any extra again.

Rules

  • Participants must register and pay before they are can use the Dart Box
  • The maximum amount of darts that a player can load up at the beginning of each game is 200. This means a player can load up to 11 18 mags (or equivalent).
  • Players are no longer able to access the Dart Box between rounds unless it has been opened by an Administrator.
  • As a part of playing in all wars, all participants must assist in the dart sweep.
  • All participants at wars must treat the hire darts with respect i.e. not shooting them directly at trees or other solid surfaces.
  • At the end of each event, please check whether you have unloaded all clips, pouches, and pockets of all darts.

Offers and Prizes

To encourage proper dart sweeping between rounds, the new Dart Hire system will involve a set of small prizes for those who put extra effort into their sweeping. We will be offering a $5 coupon to those that the Admin team deems to be the best dart sweepers on the day. At each event, there will be five coupons up for grabs.

These coupons are non-transferable, non-redeemable for cash, and valid for up to six months only at SNW events where Blue Foam Dart Hire is available.

Dart Hire Donation to SNW

The final change to the Dart Hire system is that from now on, 10% of Dart Hire revenue from each war will be donated to SNW for purchases of equipment and other necessary items. This means we could see more Mini vortexes, team markers, and other SNW memorabilia in the near future!

– Echoes, your man with lots of darts.

Nerf Dart Tag Snapfire 8 Review

Overview

This little Pistol created quite the stir within the Sydney Nerf Wars community when we were informed of its existence. An 8 shot, auto advancing turret with semi-automatic fire capabilities is something to not be sneezed at. And to make it all the more attractive, it wasn’t a flywheel blaster! No need for batteries and no need to worry about it making all sorts of ugly roaring noises that would (theoretically) give away your position. There was a lot of speculation being thrown around among the members, speculation which is about to be ended (Urban Taggers and SGNerf have done it already, as always…) now that Echoes has nabbed one from Target at a cool $19. Is the Snapfire 8 all that it’s been cranked up to be? Let’s find out!

Continue reading “Nerf Dart Tag Snapfire 8 Review”

Nerf N-Strike Elite Rampage Review

Overview

The Rampage was the second N-strike Elite blaster to be revealed, and also boasted the 75ft ranges that we were all looking forward to. From my initial review of the Retaliator, we know that these blasters are definitely capable of these sorts of ranges, but are somewhat lacking in the consistency department. Is the Rampage any better? Or was the Retaliator the Elite Series’ one shot wonder? (Again, we realise you saw the review on Urban Taggers and SGNerf already, but we’re building suspense anyway!) Echoes scored this one from Amazon.com as well for around $40, which he thought was a very reasonable price!

For the good parts of the review, keep reading!

Continue reading “Nerf N-Strike Elite Rampage Review”

LiPo Batteries – I’m Chargin’ Mah Nerfz0rz!

Hello Nerfers! I’m here today to tell you about the wonders of Lithium Polymer batteries!

LiPo’s have a bad rap in our hobby due to perceived dangers of their usage – the manufacturing process of these power cells means they must be treated with care, but by following instructions and taking the right precautions, they are no more dangerous than that set of AA’s you have decomposing in a TV remote in your own living room!

What is a LiPO Battery?

According to wikipedia, a LiPo battery is this:

“Lithium-ion polymer batteries, polymer lithium ion, or more commonly lithium polymer batteries (abbreviated Li-poly, Li-Pol, LiPo, LIP, PLI or LiP) are rechargeable (secondary cell) batteries. LiPo batteries are usually composed of several identical secondary cells in parallel to increase the discharge current capability, and are often available in series “packs” to increase the total available voltage.”

Does that clear up everything? No? Oh, alright then… better keep reading!

Continue reading “LiPo Batteries – I’m Chargin’ Mah Nerfz0rz!”

Nerf N-Strike Elite Retaliator Review

Overview

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the release of the new Nerf Elite lines, with Hasbro making outlandish promises of 75ft out of the box! This new line of Blasters sparked a lot of questions and quite a bit of controversy throughout the online Nerfing community. But thanks to Amazon.com (and a cool $40 shipped to Australia), Echoes (the Sydney Nerf Wars Admin who buys a lot of stuff…) has managed to procure a couple of units and is ready to give his thoughts! (I know we’re a little late on this, with blogs such as Urban Taggers, SGNerf, and Foam Dart Goodness already having reviews and/or modification guides on them, but we thought we’d do this anyway).

General Review

Immediately upon taking it out of the box, we can all tell where the Retaliator takes its design cues from – the good old Nerf N-strike Recon cs-6! But there are definitely some changes from the old model. Nerf has replaced the Tactical light with a Fore grip, and the original (albeit flimsy) stock with a sharp looking short one. They’ve also removed the Leaf sight and been so kind as to provide us with a very handy 12 shot clip system magazine. It’s an attractive blaster overall, but we aren’t just here for the aesthetics, are we?

Continue reading “Nerf N-Strike Elite Retaliator Review”

Sydney Nerf © 2024 Developed by Queenie