2013 Dart Tag Stinger - Review

With all of the buzz going on around the new 2013 Elite blasters, it can be easy to forget the other ranges of blasters that Hasbro produce under the Nerf brand. The Dart Tag line has largely been overshaddowed in the last couple of years by the release of the Elite range and there hasn't been a new Dart Tag blaster since the Snapfire 8 was released in 2012.

I managed to get my hands on the newest member to the Dart Tag family, The Dart Tag Target Tag set.

Dart Tag Target Tag Set

The set costs £12.99 and includes a new blaster called the Dart Tag Stinger along with a large target, designed for use with the Dart Tag 'Tagger' Darts. This set is the perfect solution to boredom on those wet and windy days when there is no one else to play with. Much like the Tech Target of old, but without the 'Tech' part. The target is quite large and very stable on it's stand. Best of all, tagger darts stick really well so aslong as you hit the target, you won't have to scurry around to find the ones that bounced off.

I used to have a Dart Tag jersey on the wall for my Dart Tag silliness. That has now gone and been replaced by the target. Not for the obvious reasons, but because the darts hit it with a loud thud. That makes me smile.

For me (and I'm sure you) the most interesting part of this set has to be the blaster. The Dart Tag Stinger.

Nerf Dart Tag Stinger

The Stinger obviously looks a lot like the N-Strike Jolt IX-1 but with a bit of a facelift. It has a bit more of a 'spacey' feel which this guy likes a lot. The two holes on the top serve as dart holders and the colourscheme is really appealing.

Dart Tag Stinger Holds Three Darts

But enough with all that. Let's get beneath this pretty frock and see what's new!

Dart Tag Stinger Plunger Head

The Plunger head of the Stinger is exactly the same as that of the Jolt. Hopes for a stronger spring or improved plunger design have all but been dashed.

Next I began to remove the rest of the shell. Like some of the other Dart Tag blasters, the shell comes away in sections to reveal something very interesting...






It's a Jolt... in a Space Suit!

Dart Tag Stinger Internals

So there you are. The new Dart Tag blaster is actually an old N-Strike blaster in a fancy hat. At this point I couldn't believe it. There is obviously no point at this stage doing a side to side review with a Jolt (as I intended) since they are the same thing.

I wanted to hate this blaster when I discovered it's secret. A little more than a shameless repaint as we saw with the Elite Jolt, but shameless none the less. However I can't deny that I really like the design of the Jolt's new outfit, even more than the design of the original. In fact, it will replace the Jolt on my loadout simply because the new space suit looks so cool. What's even better is that I can simply put my old, modded Jolt in the new shell and off I go.