- was awarded "Boy Toy of the Year" at the 11th Annual Toy of the Year Awards, which is held at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. Popular Mechanics praised it as "the best overall Nerf gun ever", being easy to use and less prone to jamming than earlier battery-powered Nerf models. Gear Up Gear Up was a limited edition line of certain N-Strike blasters painted orange and black instead of their usual blue color. They were produced as a promotion for Hasbro’s then-upcoming Nerf Vortex blaster line, and blasters included a sample of the new Vortex ammo. Due to their brief production period, Gear Up blasters have been highly collectible, and the range includes re-skins of the Raider CS-35, Maverick REV-6, Barricade RV-10, and Recon CS-6 Clear Series. The Clear Series was a limited edition line of certain N-Strike blasters that utilized clear, see through plastic. They were a Target exclusive in the United States and came packaged with red streamline darts. Some have complained that the seals in the clear blasters have looser seals, leading to poorer performance. Additionally, the clear plastic has been called "thin" compared to other blasters. Elite Repaint This was an unofficial series in which N-Strike blasters were repainted to imitate N-Strike Elite blasters, but were not officially labeled so on the box, and the internals were not updated to match Elite performance. Light It Up This was a series that included one N-Strike blaster, the N-Strike Rayven CS-18. The two blasters (the other being the Vortex Lumitron) used glow in the dark darts. Red Strike These blasters were released for a limited time towards the end of 2009, and were repainted N-Strike blasters with a red, black and grey color scheme. The limited availability of these blasters (Recon, Vulcan, and Longshot) has led them to become very rare, expensive, and sought after. Sonic Fire This series was repainted blasters with dark translucent red plastic. Only 2 N-Strike blasters were utilized in this series, the Barrel Break and the Jolt. Sonic This series was repainted N-Strike blasters with translucent green plastic. They were a Toys R Us exclusive in the United States. Whiteout Series This series was repainted N-Strike blasters with a white base, and orange and grey detailing. They were a Walmart exclusive in the United States, and some have claimed a performance increase in Whiteout blasters. A fifth Whiteout