Nerf Retaliator Mod: Air Restrictor Removal and Barrel Extension

by grant.herrman.1

168K3796

Intro: Nerf Retaliator Mod: Air Restrictor Removal and Barrel Extension

Want a little more *bang* for your buck? Check out this detailed Instructable on air restrictor removal and barrel extension for a great way to revamp your Retaliator Nerf blaster. Removing the air restrictor increases the power and range of your blaster by a noticeable amount. It also makes it much louder when firing, which is very intimidating to others. Extending the barrel will increase the accuracy by a small amount, but will greatly decrease the blasters power because of natural friction on the dart. The barrel extension also adds +10 style points to your Nerf arsenal.

This Instructable requires very few tools and a minimal amount of skill level. Depending on your experience with Nerf blasters, this mod can take a varying amount of time. This was the third time I've removed an air restrictor and it took me about 30 minutes. However, my first experience took me about an hour and a half because of troubleshooting.

CAUTION: Modifying a Nerf product will void any warranty you may have, and will increase your chance of damaging the product. But the result of this instructable is wicked cool, yo. I should also caution you to keep the barrel extension away from water since we will be creating a paper inner barrel.

The materials required are:

  • Nerf Retaliator with barrel attachment
  • Hammer
  • A long screwdriver
  • Small philips head screwdriver
  • Screw holder (cup or lid works well)
  • Printer paper
  • Tape

I would also like to direct your attention to www.orangemodworks.com where you can order custom Nerf internal pieces. If you are serious about adding power to your blaster, check this website out.

STEP 1: Remove the Screws

This is the first step toward the rest of your non-air restricted life. Remove all exterior screws and place them in your screw holder. Conveniently, the screws are all located on the left side of the blaster. The cap on the end of the blaster must be unscrewed and taken off before we can open up the blaster.

Hint: There are two hidden screws underneath the cocking handle. See picture.

STEP 2: Open Up the Blaster

Well, there's no turning back now. Slowly open the blaster up by separating the exterior shell. Do not worry if parts jump out, this is natural because of how many springs are used inside. Make a mental note of how all the pieces fit together and use these pictures for reference when you put the blaster back together later on.

Note: There are several pieces shown in the pictures above that are not needed for the operation of the blaster. Because they do not affect the scope of this Instructable, I will not be taking the time to explain their importance. You can decide whether you want to keep them or throw them out.

STEP 3: Locate the Air Restrictor

Remove the spring and piston unit. This should be relatively easy, but be careful to not break anything. As you can see, the air restrictor does a good job of restricting air. It's kind of amazing that any air can pass through at all!

STEP 4: Remove the Air Restrictor

This is where you get to be creative. Take your time with removing the air restrictor because the plastic is relatively fragile. My tools of choice are the long screwdriver and hammer combination. If you have a drill with a long bit, that would work well too. Basically, you want to remove everything within the shaft without damaging the shaft itself.

Trouble? If you do happen to break any of the internals, you can buy new and reinforced internals from Mod Works. http://www.orangemodworks.com/category_s/1845.htm

STEP 5: Reassemble the Blaster

Put the pieces back in place and screw the blaster shut. Make sure to align the piston back into its grooves. See Step 2 for reference pictures of how the parts fit together. Be careful not to force the exterior shell closed, it should snap together with little difficulty. Pay attention to line up the exterior cocking mechanism with its internal counterpart.

STEP 6: Open Up the Barrel

We are now ready to extend the barrel attachment. Extending the barrel on this blaster makes it look much cooler in my opinion. It also makes your weapon look much more unique and will set your blaster apart from others. It's true that this mod will decrease the power of your blaster, but the Retaliator's barrel attachment can be taken off when you need the extra power. Gather the materials shown in the picture and let's get started!

Remove all screws and separate the exterior shell of the barrel. Make sure to keep all of the screws in your holder. The inner barrel comes out very easily and you can see in the pictures where it will be placed once the mod is complete.

STEP 7: Create the Paper Barrel

The paper barrel does not need to be super exact, you can just eyeball and tear the paper to length. If you are not great with tearing straight lines, grab a pair of scissors for a quick cut. Roll the paper into roughly the same size tube as the inner barrel and tape it in place. See the pictures for how the paper barrel will look and fit into the barrel.

Note: Getting the right paper barrel size may take a few attempts. I recommend reusing old pieces of paper since it can't be seen from the outside.

STEP 8: Reassemble and Finish!

Close the barrel's exterior and screw it back together. You are now finished with your mod! Go shoot off a few darts to see how your blaster has improved!

Special thanks to Marteen "HH" Alanis (name has been altered for "reasons") for being my third hand in taking pictures.

Comments, questions and recommendations are always appreciated!

60 Comments

jmack5258 3 years ago

What kind of improvements are you seeing from the removal of the "air restrictor"? I ask because this is not an air restrictor but rather a diaphragm that opens under pressure. This ensures adequate pressure behind the projectile. Otherwise, low pressure could dribble the dart down the bore. I am brand new to Nerf mods(within hours) so I am curious what results people are experiencing. Ideally I would want a heavier spring in there to require more pressure to build prior to release. Has that been tried? I see this mod is very popular. It just doesn't make sense to me.

grant.herrman.1 2 years ago

Thanks for your interest in the mod, I created this instructable as a college class writing assignment, but I have been removing air restrictors from Nerf guns since 2008. The restrictor in the model pictured does not have any moving components, it simply softens (restricts) the air flow to make the blaster shoot a little smoother and quieter. This is actually limiting the ability of the spring and blaster power. By removing the restrictor as shown, you open up the airways and allow the spring to produce its full power in launching darts. Good luck and have fun with your modding!

Idrove 2 years ago

Do I need to put the air restrictions back

grant.herrman.1 2 years ago

No, the point of removing the air restrictors is to improve the blaster's power. It will make the blaster sound louder, which may also be a cool added benefit. Of course, perform this modification at your own risk.

3D MakerBuilder 3 years ago

If you don't want to damage any parts check my "I Made It" to see how.

BarerSaturn287 3 years ago

So my question is? How long will shoot with that loooong barrel? idk but for me it will go like this:

grant.herrman.1 3 years ago

I'm sorry you are having issues. I did not notice any considerable change in distance between the longer barrel and no barrel extension.

llllllbbbbbb 4 years ago

your mod broke my flipping retaliator. that might be because my model is the blue version. if it only works on the wight version then tell people. but i did like the extended barrel mod. but i hated the air restrictor mod

grant.herrman.1 3 years ago

I'm very sorry to hear that you are having difficulties with the mod. I am not aware of any difference between the coloring of the Nerf guns. Please remember that modifying your Nerf blaster voids any warranties with Nerf and that you are working at your own risk. As a kid, modifying these blasters was a great way for me to learn and make my own mistakes. Please try to enjoy your work and learn from any mistakes. Good luck in your repair!

reptilekid127 3 years ago

Mine stopped working too. It was easy removing the AR, and I put it all back exactly the way it was before the mod, and it now does not work at all. Mine is the white one, but in theory it should have worked for both white and blue. Very frustrating.

reptilekid127 3 years ago

Don’t do this mod. It is not only frustrating trying to remove the air restrictor, but it ruined my gun after doing everything exactly as I should have. I have heard that it also shortens the life of the gun when you remove the AR. Please don’t do this mod unless you are willing to ruin your gun.

TheGoldenPikachu 3 years ago

can you do it with a recon?im not sure,although they are basically the same blaster

Muaz2205 3 years ago

Yes, for the barrel mod at least. Im not sure about the air restrictor

EnderMaster08 3 years ago

Do NOT completely remove everything from the barrel. Heres a picture of an actual good barrel without the air restrictor.

grant.herrman.1 3 years ago

That is correct! Thank you for the clarification, your barrel looks perfect.

EnderMaster08 3 years ago

Also, if you broke the barrel, here is a cheap replacement from ebay (havent ordered it yet so i cant say it works)

robotlord2004 4 years ago

can this be done with an x-shot (the one that shoots 3 bullets and you have to turn manuelly)

grant.herrman.1 4 years ago

I am not familiar with the newer versions of Nerf toys, but you may try searching on YouTube. That is where I get a lot of my inspirations from. Most Nerf rifles have air restrictors built into them, but they are all different and each rifle is built unique.
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