It's NERF or Nothing!

From Mod Mania

1 What is NERF?
2 NERF Gun Modding
3 Nerf Wars
4 Conclusion
5 Videos
6 References

What is NERF?

Nerf is a toy created for safe indoor play that either shoots or is made of foam. The toys are made from non-expanding recreational foam, thus the acronym NERF. This line of toys is owned by parent company Hasbro. The most notable product in their line of toys are their dart guns or ‘blasters’ as Hasbro likes to call them. Since many of the items were released throughout the 1980s, the items feature soft textures and bright neon colours.

Nerf foam is produced by the reaction of polyester with a diisocyanate while carbon dioxide is released by the reaction of carboxyl with isocyanate. Polyester resin reacts with a separate compound while carbon dioxide is simultaneously released by another reaction. The gas created by these chemical reactions produce pockets of air within the polyurethane, thereby making the material soft and light.

NERF Gun Modding

In recent times with the surge of the modding culture, even toy guns have been brought into the limelight. There has been a surge in nerf gun modifications and even communities being built around them. Modifications can either be made through its aesthetics, with its internal mechanics or even both. The modifications can be subtle or way over on the other end of the spectrum where much time and money is devoted into producing machines that not only outperform anything store bought but are also deemed works of art depending on the audience.

Andy Sowards a geek blogger writes, “These [extreme nerf mods] take your old Nerf guns lunch money, and stuffs them in a locker, successfully scarring them for life.”

Although Hasbro prints "Do not modify darts or dart blaster" on most Nerf guns, a select group of enthusiasts modify the guns. Modifications can include removing the internal parts which restrict air, replacing springs, replacing the barrels with PVC or brass tubing, and even paintjobs or cosmetic enhancements. Modifications such as these can increase the rate of fire of darts or the distance at which the dart can travel.

Stefan dart on the left compared to official NERF dart right

Homemade darts; called "Stefans"(named after Stefan Mohr, who developed the process) have also been made, usually being made out of foam backer rod. Making your own Nerf darts (aka Stefans) is not only easy to do but is also a lot cheaper than buying darts in a store. As an added bonus, homemade darts also perform much better than any official Nerf darts. The Stefans also allows players to feel the darts when hit, dissolving any ‘hit or miss’ arguments when playing with others.

Many websites, forums and communities within the internet are dedicated to Nerf modification and "NERF War" hosting; which will be discussed later on. There are also similar efforts displayed in airsoft guns and paintball guns though some users prefer to engage more with Nerf guns as there is more variety and are open for lots of creativity. Other companies also produce similar items to the Nerf Blaster ranger and are often called ‘NERF guns’ however are not affiliated with the Hasbro NERF range. Two companies that produce blasters as well are Air Zone and Buzz Bee.

A notable Nerf gun modification was made by workers of the online drink company ‘Mana Energy Potion’, when they took a Nerf Vulcan and modified it to its extremes. In comparison to its size and generally intimidating aesthetic the stock Vulcan shot darts quite slowly and thus a modification was at hand. The team at ‘Mana Energy Potion’ modified the Vulcan by adding extra battery packs to mechanics to increase power and its shooting rate to 500 RPM. After the initial modification they opted to mod again, adding another battery pack, changing internals and changing its aesthetic to something more menacing to produce a machine that could shoot at 600 rpm.

Nerf Wars

Humans VS Zombies logo

Nerf Wars are organized events in which players are armed with Nerf Blasters and separated into teams and unleash a flurry of foam darts on each other. One of the most notable adaptations of the game is called ‘Humans VS Zombies’ (HvZ). HvZ is a modified tag game consisting of two armed teams. The games’ roots began in Goucher College in the US and spread among other universities in North America. Now, the game has spread worldwide and is picking up more enthusiasts.

The core ethos of the game is that if a human is tagged by a zombie, that human becomes a zombie. To make things interesting however, humans are able to stun zombies using Nerf blasters or socks rolled into balls. Stunned zombies will remain stunned for a length of time and will be unable to tag any humans while stunned. The humans’ aim is to survive as long as possible while zombies aim to kill all the humans. The finer details for this can vary between games.

Games can significantly range in size and duration; anywhere from under 10 players up to 2000 or from hour long games to month long marathons. Commonly, games occur on university campuses and run between courses, making the game something which happens around the players’ normal lives. Most games are run by ‘moderators’ who act as referees for the game; who also often run special missions for humans and zombies to complete. HvZ groups often use websites to run their games as a way of recording kills and to prevent cheating; these can be as simple as facebook groups or can be more elaborate custom game engines. Many gamers use Nerf blasters, as they shoot harmless foam darts and tend to make the game a lot more fun (playing similarly to games like laser tag or paintball).

Humans vs. Zombies was invented by Brad Sappington and Chris Weed in 2005 at Goucher College in the US. The game has been immensely popular and much like a deadly virus it has spread very rapidly. Currently there are over 300 universities which play HvZ in the US and a sizeable number of scouting/church/high-school/other groups which play the game too. However, the game has only just begun to spread overseas. In 2009, ANU in Canberra was the first Australian university to run HvZ and since then the infection has begun spreading throughout Australia.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the NERF craze is something relevant in today’s mod culture and will only become increasingly more so. It’s this hobby’s affordability and openness to creativity that brings people into the world of NERF and will also spawn more enthusiasts in the future. The level of engagement with modding and participating in ‘wars’ sometimes borders on obsessive, but the passion clearly shows and is infectious. This culture is also a sharing culture, where people share ideas, share each others time and are always cautious about being safe. Its very community driven and the ‘veterans’ won’t hesitate to help other enthusiasts get started. Despite, the craze and obsessive enthusiasm of NERF modding and NERF wars, the underlying message here is that it’s all about having fun!