Silly Shells: A Versatile New Shell Standard

When the Spring Thunder came out back in 2018, it was the only true “shotgun” style blaster. It was the first blaster to function with an underbarrel tube magazine. You could load shells through a loading port found at the bottom of the blaster, and it featured real shell ejection with each reload. 

Additionally, the Spring Thunder was more adaptable than other blasters of the time, capable of firing multiple rounds simultaneously, as well as different types of ammunition, provided they could fit within the shell. The versatility of the Spring Thunder allowed it to become popular for both casual and Humans versus Zombies games alike, whether you needed a mega dart to deal with special zombies or spread out your shot to tag multiple players at once.

At the time, it was truly revolutionary for the Nerf hobby space. For a long time, the Spring Thunder shell design remained a standard for many shell-fed blasters that followed, CYardNerf’s Breaking Wind being just one example. However, GDop, the creator of Spring Thunder, has taken a step back from designing, and as a result, Spring Thunder has started to look outdated. With the rim on the shells posing a problem for new designs and popular new ammo types now available, it made more sense to create an entirely new shell design. Enter: Silly Shells.

Just like the old Spring Thunder shells, Silly Shells allow you to use different types of foam ammo, as well as fire multiple rounds at one time. However, Silly Shells have been designed to fit more full-length darts per shell. They feature a recessed rim design to accommodate both box magazines and tube magazines more effectively. Additionally, they’re more durable than Spring Thunder shells and offer more ammo choices, including the much-loved Nerf Mega XL darts. Sillybutts even made a Mega XL shell with printed rifling, and it works surprisingly well.

Currently, there are 18 different types of standard Silly Shells available. There are also shell designs for extra-long shells and uncommon ammunition, as well as some experimental shells. Those familiar with 3D modeling will find that the source files and CAD models for Silly Shells are publicly available, allowing other community members to build around them. There’s even a Triple Mega XL shell available on printables. 

With the release of the Silly Shell standard in July of 2024, there was a companion blaster to go with it: The Wildstyle. A simple T-pull springer pistol that can use a Silly Shell attachment on the front to load and eject shells. But the best part about that blaster wasn’t even the blaster, but the little Silly Shell attachment piece that makes the shells swappable. That little piece has proved to be very modular, as it has been used in remixes for regular barrels, such as Kury barrels, ½ inch PVC, the Nerf Fate, the Nerf Titan, Silly’s PBR Bow, the X-Shot Longshot, and even a rail-mounted blaster. I have even used a ½-inch PVC remix to attach it to a Gobzooka, allowing me to use the Silly Shells with a massive air tank blaster. 

Last December, Sillybutts released his next shell-ejecting blaster: The Battle Axe. Featuring a top-loading box magazine that can accommodate between 2 and 12 shells, it performed well at over 100 FPS. It proved to be a popular choice among HvZ players, as it allows them to cover large areas with shotgun blasts and top-load a Mega or Mega XL dart to deal with special zombies.

But the one blaster that we were all anticipating was  Breacher. Breacher is the spiritual successor of the Spring Thunder and Sillybutt’s take on a tube-fed foam-flinging tactical shotgun blaster. This blaster is perhaps the most highly anticipated release ever since Sillybutts posted videos of prototypes on his channel. Naturally, many people are eager to own one.

Breacher has an onboard capacity of 4 shells as the default, with the option to choose either a +1 or +2 magazine extender. It also performs about the same as Battle Axe, while looking cooler with a more satisfying operation. Just like every Sillybutts blaster sold here at Out of Darts, hardware kits, printed parts, and assembled blasters are now available for purchase in our shop! Get excited because Breacher is set to release tomorrow, August 31st!

There’s so much potential with Silly Shells! We have multiple blaster designers creating new blasters using Silly Shells, notably the Yeethammer by Spyr, the Shellfish by Jjeeffff, and the newly released Break-Action Shell Shot (BASS) by Nils. 99.

It’s even coming full circle now! GDop’s most recent creation, a shell-ejecting underbarrel masterkey attachment, now has a Silly Shell-compatible version. The community has fully embraced the Silly Shell Ecosystem, and I can’t wait to see what shell-fed blasters Silly and other designers come up with next! - OnlyFoamDarts