Nerf Regulator review This is a quirky blaster which was much anticipated in the "Nerfer" community due to the "select-fire" ability. A toggle switch on both sides of the blaster can switch between three settings: single fire, three round burst, and full-auto. This is given a full visual picture of which setting you are switching it to when you look at either selector switch. The Regulator takes 4x 1.5v C-sized alkaline batteries (not included). One cool feature is the empty-magazine-indicator to alert you (and perhaps your opponents) that you have run out of ammunition (and are vulnerable at the moment). In the typical fashion of all of my blaster reviews, I used my ProChrono Digital chronograph to measure the speed of the darts fired by this stock blaster. The Regulator flywheel blaster has an average of 65 feet per second (FPS) on the single-fire setting (the average velocity of an Elite Nerf blaster is 70 FPS). The other two settings were more difficult to chronograph, but by using basic physics, it is assumed that the speed of the darts fired in quick succession from the same flywheels are not going to have a higher velocity than what you can measure under the single-fire setting. Anyway, this blaster uses any standard Nerf Elite dart (it is capable of shooting blue, green, white, orange, purple/grey, Starwars-themed, and decorated Rebelle darts). There are 2 sling-mounts located on the blaster: both are on the sight lines; one on the upper-front, and the other on the upper-rear. All button/switch/triggers can be found in close proximity to the main trigger, including the select-fire switch. Directly behind the select-fire switch is the magazine-release button, being so close to the main trigger has me thinking that if the user ever panics he/she may accidentally press the magazine release and jettison their ammo prematurely (that could be hilarious or frustrating, or both, depending on the person). I have not had any mishaps, but I just thought that I should mention it. Under the main trigger is the acceleration trigger (for those unfamiliar with Nerf flywheelers, it is also called the "rev trigger" and it is used to spin the wheels before the trigger pushes the dart into them, thereby shooting the dart out of the blaster). The 2 Nerf tactical rails on this blaster are in the typical under-barrel and upper-rear locations. In the upper-middle of the blaster is the jam-access door which doubles as the conveyor-belt feeding (firing) mechanism that is responsible for pushing the darts into the flywheels (thereby shooting darts out of the front barrel). This conveyor-belt feeding system is exactly the same as the one found in the Elite Hyperfire and Nerf Rival Khaos, and the longevity of the small rubber belt (with even smaller gripping teeth on it) is called into question. *I will update this review in the future when this part fails completely (my original review was dated 7-21-2017). Another pleasantry I have discovered that this blaster has is it's canted angled flywheels (see picture of motors). This is yet another trait that it shares with the Elite Hyperfire, blessing these blasters with the ability to put a spin on the dart (like a pitching machine does with baseballs). In theory, this causes each shot to fly straighter and more accurately. Whether this works or not is debatable, as foam darts are not very "accurate" forms of projectiles and will spin out of control the faster you spin them. This should make the performance of the canted-angle flywheels less apparent with higher voltage modifications. The ergonomics of the main trigger handle is comfortable enough, even with the finger/hand guard and the smallish size of the handle, it will fit most people. Just know that it is not perfect, as I detected some rough edges that could pose a comfort issue with some people, but nothing as severe as some of the other blasters in the Nerf universe (i.e. the Modulus ECS 10 or Disruptor handles). There are 4 attachments and 2x 12-dart magazines that come with the Regulator. Now personally, I feel that they should have been 18-dart mags because the joy of using the Regulator is to switch the fire rate. The bigger the magazine, the more fun you have making it empty. No biggie there, though, as 18-dart mags or even larger capacity drums could be gained elsewhere. Now for the attachments. Each attachment has it's own unique contribution to support the Regulator: 3 of the front barrels double as scopes, and there is a shoulder-stock attachment that triples as a shoulder stock, spare magazine storage, and front handle grip storage (which I will explain later in the review). The first of the 3 barrels has a tactical rail and can itself be attached to a tactical rail (allowing you to attach another blaster to it even when it is in-use as a barrel). The second does not have a tactical rail, but is more shapely and can also attach itself to a tactical rail, making better use of space to place an under-barrel pistol (like the Firestrike in my pictures), sort of like a "master-key" under-barrel shotgun option if you happen to own an extra sidearm blaster already. The 3rd barrel has a tower sight with a mini scope incorporated into it along with an unmistakable handle which is quite possibly the quirkiest-looking attachment that the Nerf designers have ever decided to make. It is a ratcheting 4-position handle that can allow you to hold the rather big and heavy Regulator blaster better as you move about. This is the handle that allows the third barrel to combine with the shoulder stock (there is a half moon-shaped hole on top of the shoulder-stock where the handle is to be inserted) for storage purposes. In conclusion (and after having rambled-on for what seems like forever), the Regulator is the new flagship blaster that fulfills the long-awaited need for a select-fire blaster in the Nerf universe. The ammo-conscious conservationist Nerfers of the world rejoice with a blaster that is capable of burst fire (despite the fact that toy blasters do not have a recoil, and the accuracy therefore is not affected by the heavy trigger-fingered operator). It has a steep entry price of $59, but it does come with more magazines than the typical blaster, and 3 times more front barrel attachments that have the flexibility of multiple different uses (i.e. barrel to scope, etc.) than any other blaster that Hasbro released to date (correct me if I am wrong). Not to mention the shoulder stock too, all of which have a paint-friendly Modulus shell. I should know, I painted all of mines already. On the other hand, the uncertainty over the longevity, durability, and reliability of the internal parts of this blaster make rating it difficult for me. I wanted to give it a perfect rating but the sad reality is that things built by those without foresight will end up failing. *Update, 10-17-2017 When I first reviewed the Regulator, I stated that if this blaster decides to stop performing well, dysfunction, or break, rest assured that I would be back to update my findings to this review. Well here I am. Apparently a cousin of mine has a Regulator that has bit-the-dust, so to speak. He was using it on a voltage mod of only 8V and it still died. When he opened it up it was found that the main circuit board that controls the select-fire had fried. It appears that the Regulator has an Achilles’ Heel, a weakness that cannot be overcome without removing it’s bread-and-butter function. My Regulator is still working on 11V, but after hearing of other stories on the internet of dead Regulators which befell a similar fate as my cousin’s, I fear mine too will bite-the-dust. This directly affects my previously perfect rating, dropping it to a mere 3 stars (which is still generous imho). I have decided to try using it on regular alkalines, and we will see how long it lasts. If it still dies, I will definitely return to further decrease this 3-Star rating. Before my most recent update (prior to 10-1
