Buzz Bee's Tek 10 Makeover

Headquartered in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong (yup, I've been there) one would think that Buzz Bee Toys is situated too far from the American market to pay attention to the American market. But they may in fact be listening, innovating, and improving their designs.

The above photo shows the aesthetic differences of two Tek 10 blasters, one from 2004/2005 and the other is soon to be released (still haven't found them at Toys 'R Us or WalMart at the time of this writing).

Without modification, the 2005 version of the Tek 10 (10 shots) cannot fire Hasbro Nerf darts. A co-worker had purchased this thinking he would have total ownage over those of us armed with Nerf Maverick Rev-6 (6 shots), but we were able to fire his own Buzz Bee darts back at him while he couldn't fire ours back at us. The result: we spanked him.

Something needs to be said about modification, as there are elements within the Nerf Internet Community (NIC) that actively take stock foam dart blasters and modify them to increase range and power. The reason why Nerf darts do not fit in Buzz Bee blasters is because within each chamber is a little stem that goes into the hollow of the foam dart. Modders usually first target these stems for removal, resulting in increased air directly to the dart. It just so happens that Buzz Bee's stems are larger than Hasbro's, hence the diameter of the hollow of their darts are wider; Nerf darts won't fit. However, with these stems removed, Nerf darts might be able to be used.

As you can see, there is some design improvement. Bear in mind that website photos may be prototypes and not necessarily the actual production piece itself (for example, the Kill Bill "Bill" toy looked like a little David Carradine on the back, but the production piece itself bore only a passing semblance.

Both models are cocked by pulling the gray colored slider back.

The 2006 model may or may not be made of better looking plastics. But one of the reasons why the 2005 model looks go "goopy" is because it was cast with primariliy one color of plastic, and then painted over to appear like it were different colors. This is a typical manufacturing process. To be fair, Hasbro does this too with some of their Nerf blasters, though Nerf blasters are, in my opinion, more attractive and seem to be made out of more qualitative plastics.

The 2006 Tek 10 still doesn't quite look as nice as Hasbro's "N-Strike" line of sci-fi-prop looking blasters, but now it's looks are starting to look competitive with the Nerf Tart Tag, which is also a 10 shot.

Incidentally I recommend the Nerf Dart Tag wholeheartedly. Fit it with aerodynamic Whistler darts (available an ammo packs) and the range is quite incredible for indoor office combat, and feels a little like you're using an MP5.