Introduction: Nerf Vulcan 50-dart Ammo Belt
Alright, gang!
Have you ever been using a Nerf Vulcan and say to yourself... "Self? I think 25 shots is too few to really show how badass I look when using this Nerf Vulcan to cut down the zombies in HVZ Nerf warfare!" Well have I got the solution for YOU!
Step 1: Disassemble the Dummy Casing.
Every belt is equipped with 25 casings (that hold the Nerf darts) linked together with a small slice of nylon strap. Each chain ALSO has a dummy link at the end that you use to connect the chain into the Vulcan's firing chamber.
Flip the chain over and look at the dummy... it has some pretty convenient screws you can take out.
The ammo belts of the newer "Havok Fire" (the "elite" version of the Vulcan) have a grey starter dummy... the older (Vulcan) ones are green. Either way, pull it apart and set the little screws and the dummy casing aside.
Step 2: Disassemble the Last Casing on the OTHER Belt!
Next, you're going to take the opposite end of the OTHER chain and do the same thing... kind of.
THIS one's a bit more involved, as it's actually one of the dart casings you'll need to disassemble...
Notice the Nerf logo seems to be on a kind of "faceplate"? That's cause it is... and it's that faceplate that you're going to remove.
Look closely at this side... notice the thin line of what looks like glue on the edge?
You need to break that seal of glue... it's a bit tricky, and it involves using a sharp implement (like an exacto knife) and jabbing it in close proximity to your fingers... so be careful... but be patient and pick at it slowly, and you should eventually pop the casing. If it doesn't come up, try nudging itfrom one side or the other... but generally, it's the glue that's holding it on.
You should see a slice of nylon strap and some little plastic nubs.
Step 3: Stitch the Straps Together!
Flip the nylon back and you can see the nubs more clearly. What we're going to want to do is use those nubs as a measuring point.
Take your exacto knife and slice the end of the nylon strap off at the level of the nubs when you lay the nylon back down in the casing.
Or snip it away with scissors... whatever you are more comfortable with.
Ta-Da!
Now that you've sliced a chunk of the nylon away, it's time to get the first belt!
Notice there are convenient holes in the nylon from where it was connected with small teeth inside the dummy casing?
Yeah... don't worry about them, you won't be using those... what you're going to be doing...
... WHOA!
Make SURE you have all the casings facing in the same direction!
Slip the nylon piece from the one belt (from the removed dummy casing) into the slot of the other belt's casing. They should JUST barely touch... that should give enough room in between the casings on both sides to be able to feed through the gun properly.
... but how will you make sure it stays put?
I've seen other mods where the builder just jammed the cover back onto the casing, where no nylon was cut at all and where the new belt was just connected to another belt with a dummy casing in the middle. I like my idea, because it's simple, you don't have to miss a round in between when firing and in the end, it's a small amount of effort for a clean-looking finish.
You're gonna sew them together!
End to end... with a loop stitch... or whatever... it doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to hold the two pieces in place.
Be careful you don't loop your thread around the other casings, though. LOL
Step 4: Put the Casing Back Together!
In the end, it should look something like this... more or less one continuous line of mylon strapping.
Now you put the cover back over the nylon strap.
It's a bit difficult and might require a bit of force... I found it easiest to start with one side at a time, but it's a bit of a task getting them both to snap back in.
Do your best, you might need a small screwdriver to jab the other side in. You'll need to then apply a whole lot of force onto the casing with the ammo belt hanging off of the work table so as to provide as much room as possible to the cover to pop back on.
Sometimes it works, sometimes you might require sticking glue on there to make sure it stays... your mileage may vary. None of mine were re-glued and all of them seem to be working fine.
In the end... your casing should look pretty darned close to the the way it did before... and pretty darned identical to the ones on either side of it.
The only real issue NOW is that a 50-round belt won't fit in the convenient ammo box and is too heavy to feed properly through the Vulcan... so you'll either have to one-arm fire the Vulcan strapped to your shoulders and hand-hold the ammo belt like a badass, or find another method to store a larger quantity of ammunition... (TWO ammo boxes, maybe? Or a separate drum to hold your new badass ammo belts?)