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The Vulcan EBF-25, also known as the Havok Fire EBF-25 in Europe, is an electronic belt-fed Nerf blaster that was released in fall of 2008 under the N-Strike series. It requires six "D" batteries to fire automatically.[1]

Included contents[]

Details[]

The Vulcan EBF-25 is a large belt-fed blaster with two firing modes: a battery-operated fully-automatic firing mode, and a bolt-action single-fire firing mode. An included ammo box which houses the belt attaches to the left side of the blaster. The belt auto-advances as darts are fired.

The blaster features a large carry handle, not only to assist in carrying it, but to act as a grip for firing it from the hip. An included detachable tripod accessory allows the blaster to also be used stationary on a flat surface, similar to that of a turret. The Vulcan is also compatible with the Rhino-Fire tripod, in lieu of its own.

It has three tactical rails, two on the sides of the blaster and a third on top. It also has three strap points, one located on top of the muzzle, one under the front of the blaster, and one at the end of the blaster.

It advertises a firing rate of up to three darts per second.

Official description[]

History[]

The prototype of the Vulcan was known as the Vulcan BF-50, which was far different from the final version. Despite having the number code of BF, according to The Ultimate Nerf Blaster Book, the blaster was always intended to have a motorized direct plunger system, and so the number code was likely changed to EBF to reflect its automatic capabilities. It also featured a larger, cylindrical ammo box, known as a "belt drum", which held a fifty dart belt. Initial plans for the blaster also included a series of three rotating barrels, but was cut due to the complexity of having three interchanging barrels on a fully-automatic blaster.

A scaled up, promotional version of the Vulcan BF-50 was created and was shown off at Nerf events.[2] It used a wall outlet as its power source and fired a much larger dart. Judging from the sound, it seems to use an air compressor rather than a plunger to fire the dart.[citation needed]

The Vulcan was announced in early February of 2008. News began to spread around February 13th, after it was discussed on popular forum NerfHaven.[3] There was heavy speculation before pictures were revealed that it was going to be an air system blaster. Pictures were revealed several days later on the 18th of February.[4] Early versions of the Vulcan featured a chrome-colored handle at the top of the blaster, no yellow plates on the tripod, and an orange belt. It also featured more yellow and less grey on the center of the shell.

The Vulcan, in a more complete form, made an appearance at an unknown convention in early June of 2008. The blaster was shown firing roughly between two and seven feet, barely leaving the blaster itself in some cases, leading to disappointment among some fans.[5] This may have simply been due to the fact that this was an early model and not a finished version. Early rumors claimed a release on July 1, 2008.[6]

Shortly after release, the blaster became somewhat of a flagship product for the Nerf brand. It was part of many promotions, one notable one being 2009's Great Dart Giveaway promotion.[7] Rumors of its discontinuation began spreading around September of 2010, however this did not occur.[8]. It was also re-released as a Red Strike blaster, as a 2009 Black Friday Walmart exclusive. Additional re-releases came in 2010, for the Clear Series and Sonic Series.

A newer version of the blaster was released later in its lifespan. The packaging description, which originally read "The Largest Full-Auto Nerf Blaster", was changed to "Full-Auto Belt-Fed Blaster". This newer version of the Vulcan notably has a higher firing range and better reliability.[citation needed] In some countries, stock were cleared out when the N-Strike Elite series was introduced, including Singapore, where Vulcan blasters were cleared out of stores between October and December.[1] Additionally, in 2010, newer releases of the Vulcan had a shorter muzzle than its predecessor.

The Vulcan did not make the transition over to the N-Strike Elite line. When Hasbro was asked the status on the Vulcan, they refused to comment, possibly hinting an upcoming re-release.[9] By December of 2013, a re-release of the Vulcan with an N-Strike Elite-inspired color scheme came out, this time under the international name Havok Fire EBF-25.[10]. This version features identical performance to the N-Strike variant and includes Elite Darts rather than Whistler Darts.

The Vulcan was spiritually succeeded by the 2014 N-Strike Elite Rhino-Fire, evident from their high capacities, fully automatic capabilities, and tripod cross-compatibility, although the belt has not been reused on any other blaster as of yet.

Color schemes[]

The Vulcan EBF-25 has been released with the following color schemes:

Modification[]

The Vulcan can be modified to have a faster rate of fire, typically by increasing battery voltage. This also comes with the drawback that the motor may overheat and will wear faster from such a modification.

Ammo belts can also be modified by linking multiple belts together infinitely; however, due to bulk reasons, the common modified belts hold a total of fifty darts, made of two standard twenty-five dart belts. The Vulcan's ammo box only holds a twenty-five dart belt with the lid closed; thus with the extended belt mod, the user is forced to either leave the ammo box door open or use the Vulcan without an ammo box entirely. The lack of an ammo box can potentially leave users at the mercy of belt feed errors, as the Vulcan may have a more difficult time feeding the belt on its own as it needs support, particularly near the start and end of any given ammo belt.

One solution is for the user to help feed the belt by holding it up by hand, though this can be uncomfortable, and is still not as reliable as an ammo box may be. Some modders have even circumvented the issue by modding a real military ammo box and attaching it to the Vulcan.

Trivia[]

  • The Vulcan is the second heaviest Nerf blaster ever sold, at 7.7 lbs (3.49 kg), behind the Mega Mastodon and the Titan CS-50, which both weight 7.72 lbs (3.5 kg).
  • The Vulcan has been featured as a weapon in the Nerf N-Strike video games.
    • It is also featured in the Roblox game Nerf Strike, where its likeness is used for the Turret player ability.
  • The camouflage Micro Darts included in the Ammo Bag Kit fit very snug into the Vulcan's belt, creating a tighter air seal and improve firing performance as a result.[citation needed]
  • The white N-Strike Elite-inspired re-release of the Havok-Fire predates the Elite XD series, whose blasters are similar in appearance.
  • The Vulcan may have been inspiration for the X-Shot Motorized Rage Fire, as both are belt-fed, fully-automatic blasters with a tripod.

Gallery[]

The full image gallery for Vulcan EBF-25 may be viewed at Vulcan EBF-25/Gallery.

Official videos[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2
    SG Nerf (2008-10-27). Nerf Vulcan EBF-25 - Review! (Article / Review). SG Nerf. Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  2. YouTube logo Aristocards/SWAG Show (2008-08-15). Biggest Nerf Gun in the World!!! (Video). YouTube. Retrieved on 2017-10-05.
  3. NerfHaven logo joeyaglr444 (2008-02-13). The Vulcan (Forum thread). NerfHaven. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  4. Greenwald, W. (2008-02-19). Hasbro reveals details about Nerf Wii blaster, even more Nerf overkill (Article). CNET. Archived from the original on 2019-01-02. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  5. NerfHaven logo Frankie27 (2008-06-06). Vulcan Firing Video Found! (Forum thread). NerfHaven. Archived from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  6. NerfHaven logo TheNerfLoki (2008-06-29). The Guns Of 2008 (Forum thread). NerfHaven. Archived from the original on 2019-12-31. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  7. Stu Chudy (2014-01-02). Nerf - “Great Dart Giveaway” spot (Video). Vimeo. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  8. UrbanTaggers logo Pocket. Esq. (2010-09-27). Rediscovering my Vulcan EBF-25 (Article). Urban Taggers. Archived from the original on 2017-04-01. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  9. MyLastDart (2013-01-24). Coverage of the Hasbro Nerf Toy Fair London 2013 stand Part III (Article). MyLastDart. Archived from the original on 2018-05-03. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.
  10. Southern Brisbane Nerf Club (2013-12-07). Elite Vulcan, Strikeblade, Fusefire box and farewell to Big Pete (Article). Southern Brisbane Nerf Club. Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved on 2015-01-27.

External links[]

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