Longshot CS-6 Conversion, First Nerf Project

[Bazookafied]

Nerf N-Strike Longshot CS-6
CONVERSION


Laser Challenge Conversion Project
Project headed by Bazookafied

I've been thinking about doing this project ever since I saw this behemoth Nerf gun in a commercial. Already seeing the sculpt of the gun and its sheer size demanded my attention. After doing more research on it, I learned it had a removeable front half. I didn't have any good ideas to make use of it, so I abandoned the idea of making one.

However, as I've gotten better and more creative, I've been able to imagine a design that could make this weapon a one man army, the ideal weapon for any situation. Ironic, that this is the whole idea behind the "N-Strike" line of Nerf stuff: to have a gun that can be modded to suit any battle situation. This conversion, if successful, will provide the user with a sniper rifle for long range attacks, a battle rifle for general combat use, and a sidearm, for dual wielding and support. Where am I getting 3 weapons? Check out the main feature of the CS-6: Image

The CS-6's main feature is the ability to remove the front barrel and turn one gun into two. So instead of storing a sidearm in a holster or in your pocket, it's already part of the gun. Easily detachable, this sidearm is quick to be used and, the main rifle, could still be used. Here's the tricky part though: getting this all to work.

The easy part is already 50% done. I've taken the liberty of installing LC internals in the sidearm half of the weapon. They work well. Next, I'll build a separate system into the main rifle. Now, I'll need a better lens arrangement to put into the dormant barrel in the Sidearm (the sidearm and the rifle don't use the same barrel), but the big issue is how to get it to link to the main gun just as easily as the sidearm can connect to it.

Here's my idea...

Below is an image of the rifle. There are two bright green lines representing the barrels of each of the independant systems. The second shade of bright green above the barrel seen on the sidearm is the sniper arrangement. When the Sidearm is connected to the main weapon, it will transfer the main weapon's lens to use the sniper arrangement in the sidearm weapon. The Yellow bars represent the triggers used for each of the separate systems and the pink boxes represent the two separate systems running each half.


Here's the tricky part: coming up with a way to connect the sniper arrangement to the main weapon without too much of a hassle. Ideally, I'd like to have the sniper arrangement activated on contact when the sidearm part is connected to it.

The entire point of this project's success relies on my ability to build a system that will work as seamlessly as connecting the two weapons.

[Railk]

i saw that in the store the other day and the first thing that i said was that would make an awesome laser challange gun

[Bazookafied]

Heh, great minds think alike I suppose. After talking with my good friend Pilot about it, creating the "switch" between sniper and normal mode for the main rifle can be attained by using copper or brass connections. I'll explain later once I get to that stage.

[Bazookafied]

Plans continue to be solidified for the Longshot conversion. I've decided on and already started installing the systems this weapon will run. The system the Sidearm section will run is LC Radar Extreme. This will give the Sidearm the firepower of the Auto pistol and give it the option to use Max Blasts. The system the Main section will run on will be LC P.R.O. (with the sensor removed of course). This will give the weapon a 25 round clip with options for single and auto firing rates. The Single firing rate, of course, would be best suited for sniping while the full auto mode would be best used for when the sniper module (the Sidearm) is removed. This system will also give the user an ammo display screen as well as an indicator as to whether the rifle is in single or auto firing mode.

Today's progress covered the following:

* Adjusted/Finished the Sidearm section
* Play Test of Sidearm section
* Removal of Nerf internals of Main Section
* Preparation of LC P.R.O. Internals

[Apprentice of 'Zook]

have you ever considered making firearms for the military?

[Bazookafied]

Not really. Infared light isn't really that harmful to humans. Figured I'd stick to laser tag

This project has been going relatively smoothly. I figure the bumps in this project will hit once I try to connect the main gun to the new arrangement on the sidearm part.

[Bazookafied]

Longshot CS-6 Project Update
With the sidearm portion operational and the main weapon prepped to receive it's internals, each separate system is nearly complete. My plans for the Longshot are as follows:

* Successfully install internals on the main weapon
* Range test both the sidearm and main weapon
* Determine whether the weapons are able to see combat

My goals looking ahead for this project are as follows:
* Work all problems out of each weapon
* Get each weapon running optimally
* Install the sniper lens arrangement and it's connections between each gun
* Work out all problems of the sniper mode

If tests on either part of this project are successful, I will use them as my weapons for the July 22nd game. If only one part of the weapon is working, I will use that part as my primary weapon and keep my sidearm on me in case the weapon malfunctions during combat. If I determine that BOTH systems are running well enough to be play tested, I will use the main weapon as my primary and still use my sidearm as backup. I would also allow the sidearm part of this project to be combat tested by another player who chooses to do so. They too would be outfitted with a sidearm to fall back onto if the testing weapon were to fail on them mid-combat. (Their sidearm would be a 6-shot LC Cyber Splash pistol, the same kind Eleri carries). Obviously, if both parts are able to be used, the volunteer test player would need to be able to give me an accurate and detailed description of their experience with the weapon.



Before any of you jump and say "Oooh! I want to test it!!", you should know the weapon:

As it stands, the Sidearm portion of this project runs Laser Challenge Radar Extreme internals. There is no button allowing it to use the Max Blast option (though there will be one soon) and the weapon uses the identical lens arrangement as a stock Radar Extreme gun would (about 350ft range). Only the bottom barrel is active on it. To test this weapon, you should know the Radar Extreme system pretty well, including it's teams. You should be able to know what each sound represents so that you can know if there is a malfunction in the weapon. I'd be willing to run someone through what to listen for, but I would rather let someone use this who already knows the system.

Post in this thread if you are interested in helping me test the sidearm portion of this weapon.

[Bazookafied]

Project Update
Keith Krohn (Michael Night) has agreed to be the tester of the sidearm portion of this gun for the July 22nd game. As for the main weapon, I made some good progress on it and will hopefully have it up and running for the game.

Here's what I accomplished today:

* Built and hooked up the main lens arrangement
* Installed the LC P.R.O. board
* Installed the switch for single to auto firing rate
* Designed the reload system
* Installed ammo display

Here's what needs to get done for it to at least be combat-useable

* On/off switch installed
* Power hooked up/mounted
* Reload switch connected
* Close up weapon

Right now, the powersource is causing problems. The clip idea is going to be more work than I had anticipated, so its likely that I will just have to mount power somewhere in the gun temporarily. Other than that, the weapon should work fine enough to be fired.

The new lens arrangement has not been range tested at ALL, but I estimate it will achieve a range of about 430ft, as it uses a lens arrangement similar to that of the LC P.R.O. (which has been tested at 450+ ft)

There are many other projects that will require my attention tomorrow, so hopefully I can get to everything.

[Bazookafied]

Today, the Longshot will see combat. The Sidearm portion is complete, right down to the paint. Keith Krohn will be testing it tonight to make sure its internals are working properly. The Main weapon is barely able for combat, but I'll be testing it out regardless. It has no paint on it, the screen does not work, and the battery "clip" has been skipped for now. Also, the Reload function has been giving me trouble and the on/off switch has sunken back into the weapon making it tougher to turn on. All it's problems aside, the lens, trigger, power, and reload all work (to some degree), so it's time to really see what needs fixing by combat testing it.

I anticipate some internal problems with the Sidearm portion. It has been resetting and somehow randomly activating the "teams" function on it. Also, because of the paint, the reload is not as smooth as it was. I'll try to fix that before she goes out tonight, but MAN... in Black and hammered dark chrome, this sidearm looks sweet!

Pictures to come once I can meet up with Brandon and mooch his camera some more.

[Bazookafied]

Well, I found a crappy camera around the house so I figured I'd take some pictures. They didn't turn out so bad.

Here's a shot of the combat tested Sidearm. Keith did a great job making sure the bugs were worked out of it. There is a little more work to be done on it, but for the most part, it's finished.



Here are details of the main weapon. This is the state it was in when I combat tested it. It worked fine for what it was, but there are still many things that need to be finished. I need to install a good on/off switch for it and build the battery pack into the clip system. I've taken a shot of the clip and where it should go below.

[Bazookafied]

Combat testing on both the Sidearm portion and the main weapon have been going smoothly over the past few games. Both have been tested and proven in combat.

The more I start to perfect each weapon, the more I can't help but think that these two weapons put together would just dampen their individual awesomeness. It has also become clear to me that the area I have to use for a sniper lens arrangement in the Sidearm part is not very big... and it would make more sense to fit a larger lens arrangement in the Main weapon itself.

Therefore, this project's goals have officially changed.

Due to combat data received on both weapons, it has become clear that these weapons can act on their own as primary weapons and that combining them would simply be too much effort to collaborate on the battlefield. This Longshot CS-6 project will continue to perfect each weapon respectfully, BUT the project's overall goal to make them compatible with each other has been canceled. This project will now produce two separate weapons. They will be named and designed as such:

M42B Scope Rifle II (Previously the Main weapon)
Skirmisher (Previously Sidearm)