NERF Modulus Mediator Blaster - Fires 6 Darts in a Row, Pump Action, Slam Fire, Includes 6-Dart Clip and 6 Official Nerf Elite Darts (Amazon Exclusive)

Solid blaster. You always have to slide the prime back to load / unload your magazine. It took me a few tries to get the prime handle to slide all the way back, but once I did, there were no issues slam-firing it. Takes some getting used to pulling it all the way back otherwise it might jam. Other than that, very good blaster, cool design, good starter to customize with other parts. Just wish it had a bigger magazine rather than 6x capacity. Quite fun

Bought a set for the kids for Christmas. Mind you, these are kids in their late 20's and early 30's. And yes, we had a Nerf war! Magazine holds six shots, ease to load, easy to shoot.

My ProChrono Digital chronograph measured the speed of the darts fired by this stock Mediator blaster at an average of 68 feet per second (FPS) using Nerf Elite darts (it is capable of shooting any standard Nerf Elite darts; blue, green, white, orange, purple/grey, Star-wars themed, Accustrike, and decorated Rebelle darts). The standard average velocity of a Nerf Elite blaster is 70 FPS, so it is just under the average. Just remember that for a “springer” type blaster, typically the stronger it is, the harder it will be to prime (to compress the internal spring enough to operate the blaster). Younger “Nerfers” should have a harder time using the blaster but I believe the front-pump-grip-handle should give them a fighting chance over a top-priming or rear slide-priming design (with the exception of the pullback blasters like the Nitefinder or Firestrike, which should always be the easiest to use). This base package deal of the Mediator does not include the transforming front barrel blaster or shoulder stock that carries a hidden Double-shot type (hammer-priming) pistol. Instead, it comes with a 6-dart magazine and 6 darts. Minimalistic, but for the money, I suppose it is a decent deal. For those familiar with Nerf blasters, try to think of this blaster as a cross between a Rampage and a Nerf Recon MK-2. The Mediator has the Rampage’s left side-mounted magazine well and priming handle location, and it also has the Recon MK-2’s small squarish body frame and right-side tactical rail location. I also recognize that the Mediator did not inherit the excessively long barrel of the Rampage (which suffers with some barrel-drag), nor the sloppy operation and weak performance of the Recon MK-2 (honestly, I don’t think many people like the MK-2). So far it shares all of the strengths of these two blasters and none of their weaknesses. Well, maybe the more obvious shortcomings: namely, the cheapness of the MK-2’s 6-dart Magazine, and maybe the Raider/Rampage’s awkward side-mounted magazine well orientation (provided that is not your ‘thing’). It is a good thing you can interchange any Nerf magazine or drum (i.e. old 18 dart mags/ 35 dart drums will all fit) so coming with a small magazine is not a big concern for most people. As far as ergonomics go, the size of the handles may be a bit too much on the short stubby side for people with larger hands, but really I have no qualms about the pistol grip. The trigger pull is nice and smooth and feels at home while using it’s Slam-fire function, which it does have by the way. What does irritate me about the Mediator is the ratchety feel of the prime. It feels akin to some kid is running a stick on your fence as far as the operation goes. In other words, it is loud and has an obnoxious sound and feel during operation. Most springers have a low key ratcheting feel when priming (to give the user a tactile report that it is working) and perhaps a stealth advantage over the louder ‘Flywheelers.’ The noise from a priming Mediator may actually warn an opponent that you are around, giving away your location (decreasing your otherwise intrinsic advantage). This may be nit-picky, but it just might be costly in a Nerf war. Either that, or be irritating to a sensitive Nerfer. Anyway, the Mediator has some Modulus family trimmings and I am not talking about the slit it has in the handle. There are two tactical rails located on the top and (as you may recall) on the right side of the blaster shell. Needless to say, these work with most Nerf rail attachments. Naturally, there is a front barrel attachment point and a rear shoulder stock attachment point that works with most Nerf N-Strike and Elite Nerf attachments, but expect a noticeable amount of side-to-side wobble for front barrel attachments, as mine has done so with even tight-fitting Modulus attachments (Nerf engineers, I hope you are reading this). There is an anti-lock release button located in close proximity to the magazine release button, which may come in handy at some point if your blaster gets stuck, but mine has yet to seize-up. The Jam-access door is slotted for what I assume is aesthetic purposes, but it really is just inviting water, dirt or sand, and dust to gain easy-access to the internals. This does not include the four slotted holes in the shell right behind the barrel that most people will overlook. What cannot be overlooked (literally) is the oversized rear iron-sight. There is a hole in it (sideways) that looks like a sling-mount attachment point, but it is so big that it makes attaching anything difficult. The sling-mount located under the pistol grip is much better than the iron-sight hole. If you tilt the tip of the blaster up, you can see the corresponding front iron-sight, which would work out if you were far away from your target (angled shot), but I suppose most people won’t be aiming down the sight lines with a Nerf blaster anyway (toy dart blasters are not known for their accuracy; but seriously, there are no sight lines with this blaster as the rear sight eclipses everything). In conclusion, keeping the price low and the benefits high is a plus for the Mediator. I expect great things from those who love “springers” and were looking for a new replacement for their aging Rampages. Since much of the old attachment parts from other blasters are compatible with the Mediator, I can imagine a multitude of different combinations that this blaster can be configured with. And since the performance is on par with the current dart velocities, I give the Mediator a four out of five star rating. For now, anyway. This is obviously subject to change if I discover any more flaws, shortcomings, or maybe something great about it in the near future. Hence, I will be back to change my rating and explain my findings in detail (time of this review dated 12-18-2017).

Ironically my wife and I purchased the same guns for the kids- hers she picked the frustration free packaging- I had no idea what was in the boxes- and I picked the retail box so the kids could know what was in the Christmas present when they opened it. The fact that we picked the same guns was due to the fact that we both know Nerf gun value. These guns are spot on. Why? First off the Modulus line allows you to interchange different weapons and weapon parts. The side load magazine the kids took right off and installed a drum from another gun and the fit is spot on. These also have the rails on the top that allow you to install other options that use the rails as a mounting point for things like infrared sights. Limitless options for what you can do with these, especially if you have other Modulus weapons that all interconnect by design. And last, compare these to other Nerf weapons of the same size- there is a ton of value here. I like the style- the color scheme is very cool and different to the other guns in our collection. Would certainly purchase again!

The Modulus Mediator is a good pump-action foregrip spring-powered foam blaster. For the money, it's a terrific shooter and it has the N-Strike barrel lug and stock attachment points so you can add bits and bobs to jazz it up. The branded Mediator barrel and stock that Nerf recommends are fine, but gimmicky. You're better off just using something like the Modulus Storage stock and any other barrel attachment. The only complaint for the Mediator is that Nerf used a blue stripe paint instead of the green patterns that would match the rest of the Modulus line.

It can be seen that the drop of quality & effort in NERF products has declined over the years, I bought this blaster knowing it was released before the overall quality drop, but I can see that this blaster was at the beginning of such initiative.The Dart "Clip" is held together by 4 clip & latches, when I opened the box, the Dart "Clip" had a broken latch & doesn't stay assembled anymore.The "Clip" port, or magazine well, slot for the dart clip came unattached as expected, the actual issue is that it doesn't fit as neatly. It required me to either use a hammer or hobby knife to force the component onto the rest of the blaster or shave off material to allow it to fit.Before I attempted to assemble the blaster, the Internals were suffering from a decrease of quality control, as I can hear loose parts within the blaster, either snapped off internals or excess molding plastic that came loose. Had to disassemble the blaster & air dust the excess plastic with canned air.I was hoping this pre-2020 blaster didn't suffer from the 2020 quality drop at NERF, but even this 2018 blaster has been disappointing in quality control. Once I finally made the blaster functional, it is a fun product, the ability to slam fire & such, albeit it is quite loud & rackety without modification.

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