Nerf Rampage Mod!

Background:
This is the Nerf Rampage, one of the new Elite Series blasters. It is a "re-shelling" of the old N-Strike Raider, with one big difference--it has a direct plunger! This is why Hasbro claims "ranges up to 75 feet" on the box. With the new blue streamline darts and an angled shot, I think that claim is actually valid. I love the feel of this blaster--it is perfectly sized with extremely comfortable grips. It comes with the new Elite 25-round drum clip, which is a little lighter and more manageable than the old 35-round Raider drum. And of course, you get the new blue streamline darts, which have a slightly better weight distribution than the old pink ones.

List of mods:

1. Removed the air restrictors. I didn't do the best job with this--maybe I was drinking that night or something. I hacked and slashed my way to victory with a hammer and slotted screwdriver, and almost punctured the side of my breech! In the end I prevailed but it was a messy job--I should have cleaned it up with a hand file at least.
2. Removed the locks. There is a bolt lock on the half of the shell that the screws go through and a couple of locks under an orange square on the breech mechanism. Unscrew a couple of screws to get the orange square off and expose the locks inside.
3. Cut off the nub on the bolt sled that allows the blaster to be half-primed. This nub was on the Raider as well, and serves no purpose but to mess up your priming. It is in the middle of one side of the bolt sled.
4. 8kg spring replacement from SGNerf. This direct plunger requires a pretty precise spring fit, so I decided to go with someone else's that I knew would fit perfectly. Amazingly, this blaster does not require plunger padding! The sides of the plunger tube taper inwards very slightly, which gradually cushions the impact. The plunger head never even touches the end of the plunger tube. 
5. If you replace your mainspring, you will need to put in some work to get the Rampage to prime. Just like in the Alpha Trooper, the priming rod flexes under the increased spring tension, and it may flex just enough to prevent the plunger rod from catching. I would recommend epoxying the priming bar on both ends (front handle and bolt sled), or do as I did and add a piece of foam on top of your plunger head. There is a nice little "cup" in the plunger head that allows a round piece of foam to fit in nicely.

Summary:
All in all, this blaster is very nice! It now breaks 100 feet per second velocities with streamlines and still has its slam-fire capabilities. In the future, I might want to create a new breech for it that accepts stefans, since stock darts blow. For $30, this blaster is worth the money, especially if you liked the ergonomics of the Raider. I give it my seal of approval!

Cheers,
T da B