Rival Curve Shot Sideswipes are already available more than a month ahead of the official release date, which can only be attributed to a Walmart stocking mixup. To that end, Ive been testing and making parts for it. What is the verdict? It’s a great blaster that fires well, curves your shots, but don’t expect miracles!
Look At Those Curves!
Curve Shot seems to have fully accepted the name with the new releases. The Sideswipe’s long body contains a 12-round internal magazine. It gives off the alien weaponry vibe youd expect from a video game. In any case, its a nice, stylistic departure from the rather utilitarian Rival blasters before it.
The front of the blaster features a rotating hop-up assembly. Straight firing is as simple as aligning the sights. To curve shots in the other direction, turn 45 degrees and rotate 180 to cause the ball’s downward trajectory. That last feature will find great use in arenas with cover, as you can drop rounds behind barriers.
The loading port is located on the left side and can be pulled down to allow for easy magazine reloading. Firing the blaster, meanwhile, consists of priming the blaster via a removable (and ambidextrous) bolt mechanism. Its a short, strong motion, and it works.
How comfortable is it? It feels great in the hand and the trigger is responsive. The front grip is also comfortable and works well. The stock, however, is a bit of a letdown. It is both too narrow and too short in my opinion. The stock is very easy to slide off your shoulder due to the smooth rear.
Performance
In my testing, the blaster achieved a speed of 93fps which is quite impressive considering that it exceeds the box claim of 90fps. The bolt-action mechanism results in a somewhat slow rate of fire, but one shot per second is still plenty to work with.
As for curving the shots? Expect balls to drift between 10-12 degrees in each direction. Its a relatively shallow curve, so expect to be curving to hit behind a pillar, not to turn corners in tight quarters. The downward shots can be placed behind cover if there is enough vertical space. This will result in aerial bombardment.
Internals And Modification
The Sideswipe works largely as expected; it shares traits with the Rival Finisher in terms of the firing mechanism and breech loading. Be careful with the magazine spring, however, as it wants to pop out when you have the blaster apart. Although that fact makes me wonder how easy or hard it would be to expand the magazine back into the lower orange protrusion.
As for the stock, Im already working on that, with a 3d printed piece you can just slap over the existing stock. We will keep you posted on new items as they become available.
