Blaster Think Tank: [Disassembly] Nerf

This is one of my guilty pleasure blasters. It's performance is sub par and it only has a 5 dart capacity. There is just something about the aesthetic that I like. The new Accustrike Alphahawk is very similar internally, though there are some differences. For instance, the Spectre rotates as you prime the blaster, whereas the Alphahawk rotates after firing when the trigger is released. The Alphahawk has a very differently designed sled assembly, and catch assembly as well.

So to those who keep calling the Alphahawk a reshelled Spectre, that's not entirely correct.

Enough rambling, on to the disassembly of the Nerf Elite Spectre.

First of all, make sure that both the attachments (The barrel extension and the stock) are removed.

Now carefully remove the screws from the priming handle, they're quite long but they'll come out eventually. When removing the priming handle, always remove the top half first so that the priming bar doesn't fall out. In the last picture below you can see the slide return spring. When re-assembling make sure that the priming bar goes through this spring or your slide will not automatically return to home position.

Now remove the stock attachment point.

After the stock attachment point is removed, you can remove the screws holding the shell together. There are 8 longer screws, and 2 shorter screws. In the picture below I've circled where the shorter screws must go.

With the screws removed, carefully separate the shell halves. You want to make sure that you don't knock out the rail attachment retention spring, it can be difficult to find afterwards (I know from experience). Once you have the shell apart, it should look like this;

Now remove the turret assembly. (The Alphahawk turret is slightly different, as the front hinge can be removed, whereas here on the Spectre it cannot.)

My suggestion next would be to remove the barrel attachment point as well as the rail attachment retention spring. It is not necessary to remove the barrel attachment point, though if you were going to paint the blaster it would be a good idea.

The blaster should now look like this

To get the plunger assembly out, we need to remove the trigger, the catch and the turret lock (which does not let the trigger pull if the turret is not locked in). If you look at the catch carefully you will see that the spring is not centered. This is important as the catch must be installed with the shorter side towards the blaster or the spring will not sit correctly. The turret lock is much the same. The side with the curved edges must be towards the blaster.

Now the plunger assembly can be removed in one piece.

Unless you are painting the blaster, it is not necessary to remove the slide spring.

Now with the plunger assembly removed, you should have this;

First, remove the turret lock rod by pulling up slightly on the right side, making sure to hold the spring so it doesn't launch away. Also remove the spring on the rotation mechanism (The darker black spring).

Next flip the assembly over to reveal the rotation mechanism cover.

Remove the two screws and the cover. In doing so, the rotation arm will fall.

To remove the rotation arm, it's easiest to turn it upside down while pulling towards the rear of the assembly and it should pop out.

At this point you should remove the rotation gear assembly so that it doesn't fall out. Pay close attention to the white ring on the gear assembly. As you can see on the left of the ring there is a small tab that must be reinstalled in the same position as in the picture below.

You can now easily remove the plunger from the plunger tube. To remove the plunger tube from the holder, you just need to twist it slightly while pulling it backwards through the holder.

You should now have a completely disassembled plunger assembly, which should look like this;

Adding this to the rest of the blaster you've already disassembled gives us the following;

When reassembling your blaster after painting/modding/whatever else, make sure that the rotation arm fits back into its groove in the shell properly as in the picture below. If you do not, the rotation mechanism will not work correctly (if you manage to get the shell closed). In the picture below the plunger had been reinstalled upside down! The horizontal bar should be on the top. It's what the priming handle grabs onto.