DIY Nerf Mega Blaster for Small Children

This is a simple, cheap, home made nerf mega dart blaster i made. I've made similar units that shoot elite darts for my 2 year old, who ins't strong enough to prime the regular nerf blasters. This one is designed to shoot mega darts. It can be made in about 10 minutes and costs approximately $3 to make. It uses no springs or trigger, simply pull the plunger back, and push it in to fire. If you push it quickly, it is a very powerful blaster, this makes it fun for both small children, and older kids/adults.

I tested it outdoors, and when angled,it shoots Mega darts over 80ft

• Ball Pump (i got mine at the Dollar Tree for $1)
• 1" PVC Coupler (non threaded) (50 cents)
• 1" to 3/4" PVC Reducer Bushing (non threaded) (50 cents)
• 3/4" Schedule 80 PVC pipe nipple (gray pvc) ($1)
• drill
• 1/4" drill bit
• Ratcheting PVC pipe cutter (or other device to cut pipe, like a hack saw

The 1" pipe fittings fit perfectly on the pump i purchased, if you use a different pump, you may need to adjust the size of the fittings to match

It was difficult to find a barrel material for the mega darts. 3/4" CPVC was too small, while regular schedule 40 pvc was too loose. none of the hardware stores around here had any schedule 80 (gray, thick wall) pvc pipe, but they did have some threaded pipe nipples. These fit the darts nice and snug for a good air seal.

Take the plunger out of the pump by unscrewing the rear cap

The pump will have a small valve in the end that needs to be removed for better airflow.

Use your 1/4" drill bit to drill out the hole in the end of the pump. Blow out any plastic shavings from the plunger tube, then reassemble.

Use the PVC cutters to remove the threaded sections of the pipe nipple. This allows it to connect firmly to the reducer bushing (if you use a threaded bushing, you don't need to do this, but i think it looks nicer without visible threads showing)

If you are using the same pump that I have, the 1" PVC coupler should fight tightly on the end of the pump. insert the reducer busing into the the coupler, then insert the barrel into the bushing. Mine all fit pretty tightly, however i used PVC cement to fasten the 3 PVC pieces together. I did not glue it to the pump because it fits really tightly. If you are using a different pump, you may need to use a different combination of pipe fittings to fit.

i decided to paint the white PVC fittings gray to match the barrel. The pump i found was red, so the combo actually matched the nerf mega blaster color scheme really well. I used Charcoal colored Duplicolor Vinyl and Fabric spray. It is not a paint, but a dye that bonds with the plastic. It doesn't build up on the surface like spray paint. It can be found at automotive stores like autozone.

I also hand painted the nerf MEGA logo on the side using a white paint marker. Hopefully it holds up, it isn't dry yet, i'm not sure how well it will stick to the plastic.