In 2016, Mark Rober created what was easily the world’s largest dart blaster capable of launching foam projectiles at speeds of up to 65 km/h. Five years later, Michael Pick has come along to steal that record from Rober with a monstrously massive dart rifle powerful enough to tear soda cans to shreds.
The appeal of a super-sized dart blaster is immediately obvious to anyone who’s actually fired one of Nerf’s offerings which aren’t exactly powerful or accurate. They’re toys, first and foremost, and are designed to be safe for kids, but there are just as many adult fans of dart blasters out there, which is why companies like Dart Zone sell $250 alternatives with considerably more power. Why stop there, though?
Michael Pike built a 3.8 metre long replica of the Nerf Icon Longshot CS-6 that’s roughly 300% larger than the original toy. Made mostly from plywood with 3D printing used to create the more intricate detail parts, Pick’s super-sized blaster weighs in at over 90 kilograms, and like Rober’s creation from a few years ago, it uses a 3,000 PSI paintball air tank to propel custom darts made from PVC pipe covered in foam with 3D-printed plastic tips.
The blaster’s main air tank is used to pressurize a secondary tank which is released by a valve controlled by an Arduino Pro Mini when it gets a signal from the trigger when it’s pulled. Even with the secondary tank pressurised to just 40 PSI, the dart can easily decimate a target like a soda can or a coffee mug. And it can fly as far as 76 metres out in the open. But when the blaster is pressurised to its maximum 80 PSI, there’s enough power to send the custom darts straight through a sheet of drywall, and they’re even capable of shattering a cinder block on impact. A kid’s toy this is not.
Currently, Mark Rober still holds the official Guinness World Record for “Largest Nerf gun” (despite the fact that Rober’s creation wasn’t officially sanctioned by Hasbro, nor is this one) but Pike assures us that his official “Guinness World Record is pending,” leaving the ball in Rober’s court to win it back someday. As arms races go, this one might be the most entertaining.