How To: Mod Your Longstrike!

Hey guys.  This is going to be a guide on how to mod your Nerf Longstrike, my way.  This guide is going to be covering basic mods for the Longstrike such as air restrictor removal, spring compression, reinforcement, air flow modifications and more.  

I want to apologize in advance because I forgot to take pics of the locks that you can take out, like the trigger and clip lock.

So lets get started!  Here are the stuff you are going to need:

• Screwdrivers 
• Glue
• Electrical tape
• Silicone sealer 
• Plummer's Silicone Grease
• Dremel
• Drill with appropriate bit (Optional)
• Rotary Pipecutters (Optional)
• Hammer 
• Pliers
• Time
• Skill
• Money

And of course, the Longstrike itself.

Opening the Blaster

Da blastah

The first thing your going to want to do is to remove the screws.  Not that hard.  However, your going to notice that the blaster cannot be opened, because of the bolt handle.  Simple solution, use the claw part of a hammer, or a screwdriver to pry it off.  I used a screwdriver:

*pop*

Now once you have that off,  you can open the blaster.

Bolt Handle off

I'm not sure if this is the case for all Longstrikes, but some parts maybe glued together.  On my Whiteout Longstrike, the forward sling mount was glued.  That was not the case for this one though...

Why must it be glued?!

This one was actually glued to the internals.  You can see the glue marks on the receiver:

Not cool Hasbo, not cool...

If you find that your internals are glued, just carefully pry apart the blaster till you can get to the internals.

Tada!

Internals

Here is a shot of the internals for the Longstrike.  Some of you may notice that there are a few pieces missing.  Those missing pieces are the locks, which I forgot to take a picture of (my apologies).   However, you don't need them, so you can just take them out, and throw them away.

Internal shot!

These are all the parts that you are going to want to take out.

Most of the Internals

Also, don't loose these parts!  Put them in a place where you won't loose them.  They are not needed for the blaster to function, but they complete the look.

Tac rail locks and iron sight.

Taking out that darn AR!

This is the assembly we will be focusing on.

Plunger Assembly

First, take the plunger off, we won't need it at the moment:

Just slide it off!

Now there are many different ways of removing the air restrictor, however I will be covering three, the hammer and screwdriver method, the drill method, or the pipe cutter method.

All dem tools!

Hammer and Screwdriver Method: 


Take a long screwdriver and your hammer.  Put the screwdriver down the end of the bolt, and use the hammer and pound out that AR!  Use caution, and check if you are hammering straight, you might accidentally pound a hole in your bolt!

Tap, tap

The Drill Method:


This is one of the easiest methods out there.  Grab a long drill bit,  and drill out that AR.  I suggest doing this from the back end of the bolt because you might mess up the seal if you go from the front.

Rrrrr...

The Pipe Cutter Method:

To preform the pipe cutter method, you are going to want to remove the bolt sled from the bolt. To do this, you have to punch out that little metal rod that is inside this hole:

That little dot is the hole

Use a small screwdriver and push it out carefully:

*Poke*

I like to finish the job by using pliers:

Not that hard.  :)

Now that you have removed the bolt sled from the bolt, this is what you should have:

All dem parts!

Don't loose that pin!  It is needed if you want to reassemble this.

Now, take your rotary pipe cutters, and slowly cut along this seam.
Ice^3 has corrected me in this.  You are actually supposed to cut about a centimeter to the right of this seam.  Again, cut slowly.
When you are done, the air restrictors should fall straight out.  Once they are out, re-glue the bolt back together. Sorry again for lack of pics again.

Cut it slowly

Seal Improvement:

If you want to get a good seal, without using the awesomeness of OMW, then this is what you are going to want to do.  Take off the O-ring from the back of the bolt.  Get some electrical tape, and cut it so that it is skinny enough to wrap around the place where the O-ring was.  You are going to have to experiment with the amount of E-tape to use here, but generally, it is going to be around one wrap.

E-tape and O-ring

Now take some of that Silicone grease, and lube up that O-ring!

Greasy grease.....

Reinforcement Modifications:


If you want your Longstrike to last a long time, you are going to have to reinforce your plunger tube.  This is not a necessary mod, but it will exponentially increase the lifetime of your modded blasters, especially reverse plunger blasters.  There are many way to do this, but here is what I like to do.  Take your silicone sealer and your bolt to a ventilated area, as the silicone sealer smells like vinegar.

This stuff smells!

Now apply it to the back end of the bolt.  Be careful not to get it on the O-ring.  After you have applied a good amount, let it cure for 24 hours before continuing.

It acts as padding!

Spring Compression Mod:

This mod is again, not needed, but it does increase the power of your Longstrike and other reverse plunger system blasters.  For this mod, you can use 1" PETG, tape, or a Nitefinder plunger tube.  I opted for the Nitefinder plunger tube as I had one laying around.  Your going to want to cut off around this much of it (sorry for lack of measurements).

CHOP!

Now just slip it over your plungertube.

Just slide it over.

If you want to use E-tape instead of a Nf plunger tube or 1" Petg, just cut it so that it is that thickness, and wrap it around till the spring rests on it.  Careful, don't wrap it too much! ;)

We are now done with modifying the internals! :)

Re-Assembly:  

Now that we are done with the modification phase, it is time to re-assemble.  First take your Plunger assembly, and replace it back into the blaster.  Make sure the pointed part of the plungertube is facing up.

Put this,

Right here.

Now take the Jam Door, and put it over the Bolt sled, back where it belongs

Make sure its on correctly!

Next, slide the spring over the Plunger tube:

Springy!

Then the catch:

It makes the gun work!

And finally, the spring rest.  Make sure the longer hook is on the top.

It holds the spring in place!

Now screw it in:

It holds in place the thing that holds the spring in place!

Add your tac rail catches:

Beware: they like to fly

And the sight:

I lost mine.  It drives me nuts!

Now fit the two shells together and put the screws in.  Remember to put your bolt handles back on, and your done!

Just pop it back together

Optional Mod, Removable Stock:

If you don't like the stock being permanent, all you have to do is cut the notches with a dremel or knife, so that they look like a "V"

CHOP!

Remember to do it on both pegs.

DOUBLE CHOP!

And, You're Done!

Hard work pays off

Now you are done!  If you did everything correctly, you should have an awesome Longstrike!  With these basic mods,  It should be hitting at least 40 feet flat.  Hopefully this was an informative write up.  Thanks for reading guys!