Nerf Sonic Ice Retaliator Review by Awesomely Nerf!

It's been a long time since I've sat down and write a review...and I'm glad to do that now. The blaster I'm reviewing in this post will be the Sonic Ice Retaliator. The Retaliator, along with the Hailfire and Rampage, were the debuting blasters of the Elite line back then in 2012. Just a year ago, Nerf released all three of these blasters in the Sonic Ice subline. This line featured blasters in translucent blue shells-so you can see their guts!

This review is written by Awesomely Nerf. Enjoy!

The Sonic Ice Retaliator has a really nice colour scheme. In my opnion, it's one of the best which Nerf has ever released. But the price for a Sonic Ice  blaster is more expensive than the regular ones. I'd only pay about $10 more for this 'upgrade'. Anything more than that is a no no for me. 

The Retaliator's box boasts ' 4 Blasters In 1!'.  I think this has misled a lot of people into thinking that there are four blasters in the box. Please note that there is only ONE blaster in the box. And FOUR other parts( Stock, Barrel, Grip, Clip). 

The white and grey parts of the blasters are painted-they're not molded plastic. Out of the box, there are a number of noticeable scratch marks on the painted areas. Other than those flaws, I think overall the blaster looks really good.

The Retaliator uses a handle at the top of itself as it's priming mechanism. Comparing to a pump action grip, this loses out in terms of rate of fire. Also, if you're trying to prime very quickly, chances are your hands might slip of the handle. 

But the good thing about this priming handle is that it's pretty large. So users with larger palms should not be able to use it without encountering much problems.

I would like to point out that there is a tactical rail on top of the priming handle. Many Nerfers, including myself, do not put attachments on that tactical rail as it slows down the rate of fire even more. 

Original slow rate of fire + attachment on top = Super slow rate of fire.   No thank you :P

 The Retaliator's main handle feels great. My hand has a perfect fit on it. The trigger is pretty really responsive,and I like it. Do note that below the handle, there is a 'secret slot' for you to put an extra dart. And beside there is a sling point for you to put bandolier straps or other slings.
The clip release switch is placed at both sides of the Retaliator, at a convenient position. Once the priming handle is pulled back, and the clip release switch is pulled back, the clip ejects by itself. So drum users, do take note of that. You couldn't want your drum mag to smash on the ground ;)

 At the back of the Retaliator, where the stock adapter is, is a lil' peak hole. Also known as the priming indicator.  When the blaster is primed, the hole will turn from black space, to an orange piece of plastic. It's basically just the Retaliator's plunger rod moving backwards.
A pretty cool feature :) 

 The Retaliator's jam door is located under the priming handle.So it can only be opened when the the priming handle is primed backwards.The jam door is a flip-up style' jam door.I'd prefer it to be a 'slide open' one though. In my opinion, I feel that the jam clearing area is too small. Either that or my fingers are just fat. :P

The Stock

The Retaliator comes with a stock. Which is detachable.  I've seen many negative comments about this stock being too short. I think it might be a bit short, BUT it is comfortable in my opinion. So overall, I think this is a great stock. Furthermore, it is an original design and looks sweet. :)

The Grip

The next part of the Retaliator which I'll be reviewing is the grip. This grip is nicely designed, with great aesthetics and ergonomics. My hand can have a firm grip on it.The grip has a pretty tight fit on the tactical rail,thus it doesn't shake.
Fun fact: The grip is also an accessory with a new design! :D

The Barrel

The Recon Barrel, *cough*, I mean Retaliator's barrel, is ALMOST identical to the Recon's one. Funny thing is, it uses the same mold as the Recons! Anyway, the reason why I said almost, is because the Retaliator's barrel has rifling.The rifling does not help to improve the Retaliator's accuracy though-it's just there for show. The barrel has a flip up sight a the tip, and it has two tactical rails. One above, and one below.

Clip

Last but not least, the 12 dart clip. Some find the 18 dart clip too big, while others find 6 dart clips too small. And many find this perfect- the 12 dart clip!
The Nerf 12 dart clip debuted with the Retaliator, and then it came with the Elite Alpha Trooper(gotta get that one day!). It has a really nice detailed design. It is half opaque and half transparent. Nerf did a really good job in designing this clip. Kudos to them!

Additional Pictures 

Grey Trigger Retaliator Side by Side with the Sonic Ice Retaliator

Original Retaliator with Sonic Ice Retaliator Attachments

Conclusion

Time for my conclusion! The Retaliator is a great improvement of the N-Strike Recon. It definitely has modding potential, but as is this is a blog about stock blasters, I'll try not to talk about mods. It is very tacti-cool, and can use stocks, attachments, and barrels. In my opinion, it's one of the more accurate blasters, and it features the elite ranges. Do I recommend this blaster? Yes! For it's price, this blaster is great for beginners! :)Stock Range:10/10   (45ft-75ft PTG)
Accuracy:9/10
Capacity:9/10
Rate Of Fire:7/10
Total:8.75/10

Personal Rating:8.5/10  Great Blaster!

Hope you guys found this informative
~Qi