Modifications
The POONBOW
Introduction Why ruin a Crossbow? What's the point? What was the underlying goal of the project... It was to rustle jimmies. Seriously, that was the number one goal of this project decided within the POON discussion forums long before the materials were purchased or the modification list was solidified. Too often I hear ridiculous comments about the Crossbow being the 'best' Nerf blaster and I thought it would be funny to hack one up just to watch people get butthurt about it. Don't get me wrong, I like the Nerf Crossbow. It has a comfortable shell with decent modification potential. But if you want to effectively use a Crossbow in a nerf war, the best modification you can do is to effectively transplant a homemade into it rendering the Crossbow dead. At that point, why not just build a homemade? That is my opinion. Everyone digs this hobby for different reasons, so don't let my opinion stop you from modifying and fielding a Crossbow at your Nerf wars if you'll enjoy using it. After some planning and tossing around different budgets for the project, I decided to pretty much throw as much money at the project that was needed to ensure I couldn't look back and say "upgrading [part] would make it better." With that mentality, this project has ended up costing the most out of any of my Nerf projects of the past. The whole cost is not visible in the final project, much of the funding was used for R&D to confirm theories about performance gains when using certain items (wiring,switches, batteries, integration materials, etc.). - Electronic locks removed - Mechanical locks removed - Flywheel housing and flywheels replaced - Xtreme 180 motor replacement - Low resistance wiring - Rev switch replaced - Rewired to Deans connector for LiPo battery - Battery tray cleared out to fit LiPo battery - Crossbow shell integrated - Rapidstrike rail integrated - LEDs added with "POONBOW' illuminated in stock Paint Job - Black vinyl dye primer - Gray base coat - Blue accents - Pink details - Matte clear coat [YOUTUBE VIDEO COMING SOON] Unmodified blasters. Yes, the Crossbow was in great in shape and was fully functional before I mauled it. #youmadbro?  Opened and cleared out.  Crossbow cuts. Video on my second channel shows the cutting process: VIDEO LINK  The Stryfe's top and rear were trimmed slightly for the integration.
  Crossbow rail prepped. I initially secured the Crossbow parts with solvent weld and followed that up with a small amount of hot glue.  Initial bonds have been made. The placement looks off but the orientation of the parts was intentional. I extended the Crossbow stock so it feels longer than a standard Crossbow.  Painter's tape and Play-Doh walls were built for the application of Smooth Cast 65D   Apoxie Sculpt initial application. This material is easier to work than epoxy putty because it has a work time of over an hour. It dries just as strong so it's a great item for body work like this. I wasn't rushed to apply the material because of the dry time like when using epoxy putty.  One way to smoothen the project is to use modeling picks, as shown in the photo. Dipping them in water makes smoothing out the material pretty easy. You can also wait for it to dry/harden and sand it away (which I also did).  After a few hours of sanding. This isn't actually the final photo but I lost the final - I later added another round of Apoxie Sculpt on top of this to level it out more.    Before.  After. I cut down this shell piece so the 3D printed plate could sit flat in this area.  Inside the rail area before the polycarbonate or LEDs were added. It's pretty messy!   Inside view. If you leave it open like this, your battery wiring can shift and cause friction on your firing mech. The white mess in the photo is a mix of Smooth Cast 65D, Apoxie Sculpt, and hot glue.   180 motors are longer than the standard 130 motors included with the Stryfe. Because of their length, you have to cut into the Stryfe shell to ensure the flywheel housing fits (as seen in previous picture). To protect the motors from external damage (like dropping the blaster and breaking your wiring connection), I adhered a 3D printed motor shield.  After wet sanding. The weird red color you see is filler primer. It's a thicker primer that is supposed to fill small scuffs and scratches. It's used in the automotive and prop industries when you sand beyond 1,000 grit - it's really not noticeable unless your project is insanely smooth to begin with (because the large scratches will still be visible). I doubt I'll use it again in the future unless I'm sanding something massive and flat (like a car - hence its use in the automotive world). The project simply isn't smooth enough to benefit from this that much. It was an improvement, but not worth the hassle in my opinion.  In the painting booth, ready for primer. Video about my painting booth: VIDEO LINK  Inside - final photo before primer.  3D printed part with a cutout displaying 'POONBOW'.  Base coat  Brush painting finished.  LED installation. These are strips of LEDs that are super easy to install. Single component LEDs are great for certain applications, but I will definitely use strips like this in the future when I need to light a large area like this. The light is evenly distributed and installation is much faster than wiring single LEDs in a chain.   Finished!    Project Resources Nerf Stryfe AMAZON LINK Apoxie sculpt AMAZON LINK Smooth cast 65D AMAZON LINK Filler primer AMAZON LINK Vinyl dye AMAZON LINK LEDs AMAZON LINK LED wiring (visible in some photos) AMAZON LINK Modeling picks AMAZON LINK Items without purchase links Replacement flywheel housing - I posted a review about this item which includes the price and seller contact information. Xtreme 180 motors - I haven't been able to find these motors in-stock anywhere for a while. Low resistance wiring - I don't remember where I acquiring the wiring I used. A search for 'low resistance hobby wire' on eBay or Amazon can get you something close to what I used. Replacement rev switch - I don't remember where I acquired this switch. 3D printed parts - Lots of people custom make parts for Nerf blasters. Search around. Nerf Crossbow - These aren't sold in stores. I bought mine on eBay but they are pretty expensive. Garage sales or thrift stores are a cheaper alternative, but finding one is unlikely. Project Reflection/Ending Notes - Overall, I'm super happy with how the project turned out. The performance is incredible due to the battery and flywheel housing swap. The flywheel housing doesn't improve the velocity drastically, but the firing groupings are great so the accuracy is remarkable. I made a review on the product which can be found HERE. - Due to the high cost of materials and insane amount of time put into this project, The POONBOW is not for sale. Coop |
The Stryshot
The idea behind this modification was to put a Longshot shell around a Stryfe to fool plebes into thinking your OP-AF flywheel blaster was just a Longshot. This is the main reason why I did not integrate anything into the bipod area of the Longshot - to make it more recognizable as a Longshot. The stock elevation change distorts the Longshot appearance, but I still think it hides the Stryfe well. Whether you want to call this an overhauled Longshot or a Stryfe with plastic glued on is up to you, haha. Modifications - Electronic locks removed - Mechanical locks removed - Internal moving parts re-lubricated - Longshot shell integrated Paint Job - Black vinyl dye base coat - Citadel silver accents - Citadel green details - Citadel red blood spatter - Duplicolor matte clear coat Project Resources Stryfe: Amazon LINK Longshot: Amazon LINK - Target LINK Bondo: Amazon LINK Smooth Cast 65D: Amazon LINK   Let's begin...  Initial cuts. I had to cut into the Stryfe shell quite a bit to allow it to mate with the Longshot's center-line. This gaping hole actually isn't affecting the motor housing or the housing mounts.  Close up on the carnage.  The time consuming part of the Longshot fitting was figuring out exactly what needed to be removed. This is the type of project that goes by about 10 times faster the second time you do it. (so look at my images and save yourself the time, haha!)  The asymmetrical Stryfe shell makes this side less picky about the fit.  The initial bond was done with solvent weld immediately followed by hot glue.  The name's Bond. Initial Bond (James Bond voice activated)  Epoxy putty reinforcements.  Smooth Cast 65D application.  If you do this mod, you can set the stock to different lengths or heights. I chose this orientation mostly to get the top of the blasters to be sort of flat. It's all personal preference.  The initial bond of the stock was also done with solvent weld and hot glue.  Smooth Cast 65D application. The goofy colored stuff is Play-Doh - I use it to create barriers to control the flow of the Smooth Cast 65D. It runs like water so you need to control it to ensure it's effective. I also cut a hole in the top of the Stryfe to let the 65D ooze in to make the bond stronger. I only did that on the right shell (bottom one in this picture).  Bonds have been made. It's now sturdy enough to play a Nerf game with!  Bondo application.  Bondo after sanding.  Bondo after sanding.  Bondo is great to make the elevation changes less sloppy looking. The magwell elevation change is still pretty drastic, but it's at least smooth(ish).  Primer coat  Primer coat.  After detail work  Clear coat.  The stock Longshot faux barrel wasn't long enough to reach from the flywheel housing to the LS tip, so I cut a Worker barrel down to fit snugly in place. I added less than an inch, but it ensures the darts fly well.    Thanks for reading, - Coop |
Tactical Rapidstrike Modification - Flat Top
To be clear, the use of 'tactical' in the title is satirical. Anyways, here is an overview on the Tactical Rapidstrike modification! Modifications - Electronic locks removed - Resistance removed - Rewired to 3x AA tray (to run 14500 IMR/Ultrafire/Trustfire batteries) Paint Job - Black vinyl dye primer/base coat - Tan vinyl dye base coat - Citadel black accents - Dry brushing - Citadel black and silver - Matte clear coat Project Resources Rapidstrike: Amazon LINK Aim Sports 12" Rail: Amazon LINK Red/Green Dot Sight: Amazon LINK Polycarbonate sheets: McMaster LINK 6-32 machine screws: McMaster LINK JB KwikWeld: Amazon LINK Bondo - body filler: Amazon LINK  Permanent marker line on the shell indicates the cutting point. I used a bandsaw to make this cut.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the lower polycarbonate plates beforethey was installed. I set clear polycarb on the gaping hole and traced the shell outline so I could cut the plate to fit. Then, I cut the plate in half so I could secure it to each half of the shell. The reason for using two plates is so you can securely attach the rail to both sides of the shell without leaving an unpleasant/sloppy seam line between the polycarbonate and the shell on one half.  I chose to use 1/8" polycarbonate to fill the shell gap created by chopping the rail off. You could use most flat, rigid materials but I'm very familiar with polycarbonate and had it on hand. To stabilize the polycarb plate, I cut up a Rapidstrike jam door to use as a mount. This was an extra jam door I had laying around in addition to the jam door used in the final product. I was going to use epoxy putty to built a mount, but this was in my spare-parts bin and saved me the time of waiting around until the epoxy putty cured.  I used JB quick-weld to secure the mount into the shell. I cut the jam door in half (in the above picture) so I could have a super secure mount on both halves of the shell instead of only gluing it into one half. There is JB weld securing the polycarbonate plate to the mount, but I use hardware to secure it as well.  Here is the hardware holding a lower polycarbonate plate in place. These are #6 machine screws threading into #6 nuts w/ nylon to prevent them from unthreading under vibration. These nuts were JB welded into place so they held still during reassembly. (I just realized I don't have a single picture showing the JB weld on the nuts - le bummer)  Lower plate installed.  The plate on the left is the upper plate, which will be bolted onto the lower plates. This piece also required the same hole for the flywheel housing. However, the flywheel housing doesn't pop up beyond the highest point of this plate, so the rail can be attached right over this hole without touching the flywheels or the housing.  Alignment.  Hole cut  This shows the clearance of the flywheel housing. This lets the tactical rail sit smoothly on the polycarbonate without interfering with the flywheels. The spacing may be different if you change materials or make the shell cut at a different height.  I didn't take an 'after' picture for some reason, but this was 'before' showing the location of a small piece of plastic that was hot glued in place to fill the this shell hole. Since I added Bondo immediately after this, it didn't have to be super clean or anything - the idea was just to block the hole so Bondo could rest on top.  Bondo comparison. The left is Bondo that is dried but not sanded while the right shows the shell after the first round of sanding.  Initial sanding.  Flat!  You can see the holes that align the top plate and the lower plates. The bolts that go through the top plate go into the nuts that were JB welded into place earlier. This holds both layers of polycarbonate onto the shell securely.  The rail used is a 12" weaver rail by Aim Sports. I secured it to the top polycarbonate plate with #6 machine screws and nuts.  After final stage of sanding.  Ready for paint!    Thanks for reading, Coop |
Rapidstrike "Uzis" - Minimized Rapidstrikes
Modifications: - Minimized shell - Motors replaced with Xtreme 180's - Electronic lock removed - Moving parts lubricated - Rewired to a 4x AA tray (intended to use with Trustfire batteries) Paint Job: - Duplicolor black vinyl dye primer - Duplicolor dark gray vinyl dye base coat - Citadel "Abaddon Black" accents - Testor's silver detail - Duplicolor automotive matte clear coat You can buy Xtreme 180's here: http://www.boomtownhobbies.com/Xtreme_Pro_180_Motor_CX2_CX3_p/esl505-fslash-2.htm You can buy Trustfires here: http://dx.com/p/trustfire-14500-3-7v-900mah-rechargeable-lithium-batteries-2-pack-19771    Off with its head!   Size comparison  That needs to be covered!   1/8" polycarbonate plate cut to fit the opening.  1/8" polycarbonate plate cut to fit the opening.   Epoxy putty added to give something for the screws to dig into.      So compact!         |
Crossbow Modification
Modifications: - Replaced plunger tube - Replaced plunger head - Replaced plunger rod - Replaced plunger handle - Full length K26 spring - 1/2" PVC bushing - Spring rest reinforced - Screw reinforcement for plunger tube - Molded epoxy putty plunger tube support Paint Job: - Black vinyl dye primer - Duplicolor "Bright Red" base coat - Citadel "Ceramite White" accents - Citadel "Abaddon Black" details - "KBK" lettered into the side - Duplicolor gloss clear coat     Plunger tube size comparison. More volume means more air being pushed, meaning better power/range.  Shell cleared out.  Lube  The lube (white lithium grease) prevents the epoxy putty from sticking to the shell, but allows me to push it hard into the shell to mold the epoxy. This is the easiest way to get a clean mold.   Epoxy putty molded support.  CPVC to stabilize plunger tube. The top spacer also helps control the plunger tube.  The top piece of CPVC stabilizes the plunger tube.  Holes drilled for mounting.    |
Rapidstrike / Strongarm Integration
Modifications: - Thermistor / resistors removed - Electronic locks removed - Mechanical locks removed - Moving parts lubricated - Strongarm integrated into RS rail - Extreme 180 motor replacement - Running on upgraded batteries (UltraFires) Paint Job: - Duplicolor Black vinyl dye primer - Duplicolor "Dark Shadow Gray" base color - Krylon "Red Pepper" accents - Krylon "Chrome" details - Rust-oleum matte clear coat - "Rogue" stenciled into side of shell You can buy the motors here: http://www.boomtownhobbies.com/Xtreme_Pro_180_Motor_CX2_CX3_p/esl505-fslash-2.htm     Initial connection  Epoxy putty to make the bond smoother and stronger.  Shield to protect the motors from damage.     The slide needs to be cut in order to fit around the magazine.    It's important to paint the inside of the blaster to make sure the blaster looks complete from every angle.            Extreme 180's are longer than the stock motors and protrude from the shell. These holes allow the motors to fit though the shell. The shield shown above protects the motors from damage.    I didn't paint the back of the magazine to allow the user to see how much ammo they have remaining.  I didn't paint the top of the magazine to allow perfect function. A layer of paint makes the magazine slide less smoothly in the magazine well.  Painted motor shield.   Clearance test.  |
Stryfe with Integrated Centurion Shell
Modifications: - Thermistor removed - Mechanical locks removed - Electronic locks removed - Moving parts lubricated - Battery tray relocated - Centurion shell integrated - PVC barrel added - Homemade sight added Paint Job: - Black vinyl dye base coat - Testors silver details - Citadel "Lothern Blue" dry brushing - Gloss clear coat        Scrap!    Hot glue as a gap filler. It's not too strong, but it fits into every little gap so it works well for this application.  Epoxy putty. This strengthens the connection between the shells and allows me to sand it smooth for cosmetic purposes.  Attached is a homemade PVC "scope" but it doesn't magnify or do anything. It's just pipe with couplers attached to an N-strike clip. |
The Dahmer - Rapidstrike/Swarmfire Integration
Modifications: - Flywheel motor resistors removed - Motors replaced with RM2's - Feeding mech motor resistors removed - Electronic locks removed - Mechanical locks removed - Moving parts lubricated - Rewired to AA battery harness (running on UltraFire batteries) - Two Swarmfires integrated - Flashlight attachment - Mock scope attachment - Foregrip Paint Job: - Black vinyl dye base coat - Citadel "Screamer Pink" accents - Krylon "Chrome" dry brushing - Matte clear coat applied with "faded" technique - Internals unpainted to maintain perfect function The motors I used: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/611      Extra bolt to make sure the Swarmfires are sturdy.   Taping off parts for painting.  JB weld  Base coat  Brush paint    Before and after dry brushing. Very heavy dry brushing on this project - I was going for a certain look, not just wear and tear. |
Strayven - Stryfe with Rayven Shell and Strongarm Integration
Modifications: - Electronic locks removed - Mechanical locks removed - Thermistor removed - Resistors removed - Trigger lubricated - Voltage increased w/ UltraFires (~16v) - Rayven shell integrated - Homemade "Firefly Tech" added - Strongarm integrated + AR removed + Barrel posts removed + Priming mech lubricated Paint Job: - Black vinyl dye primer - Dark gray vinyl dye base - Krylon "Sun Yellow" accents - Citadel "Lothern Blue" details - Citadel "Abaddon Black" details - Krylon "Chrome" drybrushing - Rustoleum matte clear coat I published a full tutorial on how to build this on NerfHaven: http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=23735&st=0             Test fit. It's pretty tight. This attachment is designed for only the Stryfe. It won't just fit on any N-strike blaster anymore.   Gorilla glue is nasty but incredibly strong.   The new PVC faux barrel allows for less dart bouncing in the barrel extension, which restricts range less than the stock faux barrel.     This hole in the trigger allows me to zip tie the trigger, enabling full-time slam fire. This makes the Strongarm usable with only one hand very quickly.   Homemade "firefly tech" allows me to use and illuminate glow-darts without the heavy, bulky magazines that require batteries. Now only the blaster needs batteries.      |
Strypede - Stryfe with Stampede Shell and Panther Integration
Modifications: - Motors replaced - Flywheels plasti-dipped - Resistors removed - Mechanical locks removed - Electronic locks removed - Voltmeter added - Moving parts lubricated - Panther integrated - Pump plugged - 1/2" PVC coupler added - 17/32 into 9/16 brass breech added Paint Job - Black vinyl dye primer - Dark grey vinyl dye base - Citadel "Enchanted Blue" accents - Krylon Short cuts "Chrome" dry brushing - Rustoleum matte clear coat - Internals remain unpainted for perfect function                          |
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