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In the grand tradition of rereleasing blasters in a new color palette, Hasbro has decided to bring back the Rapidstrike in orange. The Stratohawk, a Walmart exclusive, is the first electronic Accustrike blaster. Aside from the paint scheme and the darts, however, nothing about the blaster has really changed. And thats a good thing!
A Superstock Staple
The Rapidstrike is beloved among Nerfers due to the great stock performance and the versatility it offers when modified. The Rapidstrike has plenty of battery space, a strong dart pusher design that can withstand higher speeds, and a flywheel that can be changed for better parts. The Stratohawk offers a little bit extra on top of all that.
This version comes with two attachments a repainted Modulus scope and barrel are included. There is also a new 25-round drum, for sustained rate of fire. In case the original 18-round stick magazines didn’t suffice, there is a new 25-round drum.
As per the original, the Stratohawk is fully automatic. Pull the rev trigger to start the flywheel motors, then pull the main trigger to cycle the dart pusher. All of this runs off of 4 C batteries, loaded into the tray within the foregrip. An extendable stock sits at the back (there are really only two options all the way out, and all the way in). If you really decide you need it, the flip-up sight is still at the front.
Blaster Performance
Even on full auto, the Stratohawk performs well in Elite standards. Single shots with the Accustrike darts averaged 21.3 m per second in my tests. The average speed of full auto firing was 66fps. The rate of fire was very good, with four darts per second when using full batteries.
The Potential Within
The Stratohawk has the same internals as the Rapidstrike.
There are several switches inside. These can be used to activate the triggers or the safety features (magazine presence, jammed door closed). The blaster’s third motor and cycle control switch are still in the pusher box. All the same steps can be used here if you want to modify the blaster to improve its performance.
Funnyenough, the plastic piece that contains the sliding stock is still blue. Why paint an old piece that you don’t normally see?
Final Thoughts
The Stratohawk may have a few extras, but at its core, its still a Rapidstrike. This is fine as the original blaster was great. The only turnoff may be price the MSRP is barring any markdowns in price (I snagged mine for before tax). Thats the same MSRP as the Infinus, which not only fires darts using the same mechanisms, but also features auto-reloading of darts. The blaster is also larger and has more complex internals, which should make it more expensive.
The Stratohawk is not a bad choice. However, it can help you see things from a different perspective. Find out what you want and then enjoy it. If it’s on sale, enjoy the savings!
