Nerf Modulus Recon MKII Modification Guide

The Nerf Modulus Recon MKII was released in late 2015 as an addition to the Modulus customizable blaster line. While it is a beautiful blaster, it has a number of flaws, including incompatibility with certain magazines, lack of power, and a "choppy" and cumbersome priming mechanism.

These problems can be fixed with a number of simple modifications*, which we (a Nerf war team) will show you in this guide. These mods include:

• Lock removal
• Air restrictor removal (optional)
• Dead space filling (optional)
• Magazine compatibility fix
• Tips on other modifications, including spring replacement, air seal improvement, and stefan usage.

Interested in seeing what we have to say? Click the "next" button to begin!

*Please note that our Nerf team does not accept any responsibility for any broken blasters or injury associated with modifying this blaster. Modify at your own risk.

Step 1: Materials

To modify your Nerf Modulus Recon MKII, you will need:

• Pliers or wire cutters.
• A small Philips head screwdriver.
• The blaster itself.

Step 2: Opening the Blaster

In order to get to the mechanical parts of the blaster, we will first need to open up ("butterfly") both halves of the shell. Here's how:

1. Remove the stock and barrel attachments from the core blaster, as shown in pictures one and two.
2. Make sure the blaster is de-primed by pulling the trigger and pushing the priming slide all the way forward.
3. Flip the blaster over to the side with no decals, as in picture three.
4. Remove the two screws in the orange stock attachment point, as in picture four. Remove the piece by pulling it backwards off of the blaster.
5. Remove the two screws in the top of the priming slide, as in picture five.Do not remove the slide pieces yet.
6. Remove all other screws in the blaster shell as in picture six.
7. Carefully pry both halves of the blaster apart as in picture seven.
8. Familiarize yourself with the internal mechanism of the blaster. A reference photo has been provided in picture eight.
9. Remove the bolt sled, bolt, plunger tube, plunger rod, spring, and catch mechanism. These pieces are highlighted and identified in picture nine.

Step 3: Removing Mechanical Locks

Removing certain locks will help give the blaster's performance a custom feel. While most lock removals are optional, it is recommended that you only remove the magazine lock to avoid frustrating priming problems in the future. To do so:

1. Locate the magazine lock, bolt sled lock, and magazine release button, as in picture one.
2. Pry out the grey piece and its spring from the inside of the magazine release button, taking care not to let the spring fly away and get lost. This method is demonstrated in pictures two, three, and four.Keep these pieces, as they will need to be replaced.
3. Unscrew the silver screw in the bottom of the magazine release button, and lift it and the magazine lock out of the blaster as in pictures seven and eight. You no longer need the magazine lock, but keep the magazine release button.
4. Remove the bolt/trigger lock if desired. (Not recommended).*
5. Replace the magazine release button, screw it back in, and replace the grey piece and its spring as in pictures nine, ten, and eleven..

Once you have completed the above steps, lock removal has been successfully accomplished.

*If you do wish to remove the bolt sled lock, you may experience problems with the slide moving unexpectedly during blaster use. This phenomenon can be extremely frustrating, and as a result removal of this lock is not recommended.

Step 4: Optional: Air Restrictor Removal

If you do not wish to remove the air restrictors in your blaster, skip this step.

Removing air restrictors ("AR's") is a common modification for air-and-spring-powered Nerf blasters. We generally do not recommend removing the AR's, as the performance increase gained from such an undertaking is negligible at best, except in terms of projectile speed, which is nearly meaningless during a foam dart event. The primary reason to remove AR's would be if the user wished to shoot stefans out of their blaster, in which case the dart peg inside of the bolt would need to be removed.

If you still wish to remove the AR, simply insert a screwdriver, drill bit, or dremel tool down the back end of the bolt and pound, drill, or cut it out. Be extremely careful as making an incorrect motion could puncture the walls of your blaster, thus rendering it useless. If you successfully remove the AR, you should end up with a three-pronged piece (the AR itself), a plastic stick/peg (the dart peg), and a small spring (the AR spring), as well as a few extraneous bits of cutaway plastic.

Also, there is a small hole in the side of the bolt that you can optionally fill or cover with glue or tape, respectively. The value of this modification is also negligible.

Step 5: Optional: Dead Space Filling

If you do not wish to remove the air restrictors in your blaster, skip this step.

If you have removed the AR's on your blaster, it is recommended that you also fill the "dead" (empty) space inside the plunger tube and plunger rod. This would involve adding padding such as rubber, felt, or soft glue (such as hot glue) to the inside of both pieces, taking care not to inhibit their function. These modifications complete the AR removal process, and ensure that all projectiles have ample power behind them.

Step 6: Reassembling the Mechanism

The mechanical modifications of this blaster are now complete. To rebuild your blaster's internal components:

1. Align/connect all propulsion-oriented pieces as shown in picture one.
2. Place the entire section back in the blaster shell, as in picture two.
3. Check to ensure that the pegs on the priming slide are inside of the holes on the bolt sled, as in picture three.
4. If you wish to replace the spring in your blaster, do it now.

Step 7: Optional: Fixing Magazine Compatability

If you have a comparatively newer (recalled) version of the Nerf Modulus Recon MKII, skip this step.

Some of the first-generation versions of this blaster have issues with accepting 18-dart, "banana," and drum magazines. This problem stems from the shape of the plastic on the blaster shell, which makes the magazine well and surrounding area too small to fit the protruding portions of some magazine sizes. To fix this, we simply need to cut away a few pieces of plastic from both halves of the shell. Here's how:

1. Locate the area of the shell where the magazines are accepted. There are two intersecting planes of plastic that need to be cut down or removed. These areas are marked in picture three.
2. Cut out these pieces using wire cutters or pliers, as in picture four.
3. Sand down and deburr the plastic in these areas.
4. Repeat on the opposite side of the blaster, as in picture five.

Blogger "Nerf Gun Attachments" has also come up with his own different method of fixing this problem, which can be found here. His was the first solution to this problem ever discovered.

Step 8: Reassembling the Blaster

At this point, all internal modifications to the blaster are complete, and we are ready to reassemble the blaster. To do this:

1. Replace both halves of the blaster shell, replacing and tightening all screws as in pictures two and three.
2. Replace the stock attachment point, and tighten its screws as in picture four.
3. Test the blaster to make sure it still works properly. If the blaster does not function correctly, check to make sure that everything is in its rightful place, as shown in picture one.

Step 9: Modifying Drum Magazines

Even with modifications to the blaster shell, 25-dart drum magazines still do not quite work with the blaster at hand. To fix this problem:

1. Locate the part of the drum magazine that is causing the incompatibility, as in picture two.
2. Cut this portion out using wire cutters, as in picture three.
3. Test and perfect your modification.
4. Sand and deburr.

Step 10: Modification Complete!

If you have made it this far, congratulations! You have successfully modified your Nerf Modulus Recon MKII! You will now be able to enjoy being able to use any magazine you wish, and (provided you completed the AR and dead space modifications as well as a spring replacement), experience an increase in power as well.

We hope your modified blaster gives you many years of pleasure, and we wish you the best in the future of your Nerf modding hobby!

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-The Innovation Department at F.A.N.G. Nerf Club