Hyperfirm B-Grade vs. Praetorian Blasters E11

[kman[TK]]

I've been trooping with my Hyperfirm E11 for a while now, and have been very happy with it.  Without getting into the details, it's definitely sad that Hyperfirm blasters are no longer made, since HFx Productions is no more.

 

Somewhat on a whim, I decided to snap up a blaster from Praetorian Blasters, to see how they compare to my Hyperfirm.  I got it a few days ago (a little under 3 weeks from ordering, IIRC), and snapped a few photos to compare to my Hyperfirm.  Sorry all the angles aren't perfect, but I was in a hurry and had no extra helpers.

 

Some notes:

 

1) Yes, my Hyperfirm is a *b-grade*.  But it's a pretty solid B-grade, with almost no defects... I'm a bit surprised it wasn't rated higher.  That said, the "main" mold lines tend to be a little cleaner on the higher-grade models, because they spend more time cleaning them up.  So don't judge that comparison quite as harshly as you otherwise might.

 

2) My Hyperfirm is one of the older models.  Shortly after I got mine, HFx revamped their moulds a bit, and upgraded some parts for better accuracy and strength.  (The power cylinders were much improved, I know, and the connection to the Hengstler counter was greatly improved)

 

3) One thing that doesn't show up in photos: Weight.  The PB is noticeably lighter than the HFx.  We're not talking Rubies levels of featherweight, but definitely lighter.  That'll likely be both a pro and a con.  The weight of the HFx just "feels" perfect in the hand.  The PB feels notably more "fake" in your hands, by comparison.  OTOH, it'll be nice to have a lighter blaster on long troops, or when it's holstered.

 

4) The out-of-box weathering on the HFx was pretty much perfect.  Not too much, not too little.  They got the right amount of gold/brass tones on the scope, too.  There are always a few things you can tweak, but it's entirely optional.  The PB weather was MUCH more restrained.  For some, that's a positive, others, less so.  You CAN troop it out of the box, but I feel it could use a little more.  And of note, there is no brass/gold on the scope at all.  No silver, either, fortunately, but this could definitely benefit from a touch of brass tone on the scope, even if nothing else is touched, IMO. (Note: I saw a post by PB mentioning "advanced paint jobs" or something to that effect, with a photo showing a scope with some brass tones on it, so perhaps this will be changed in newer shipments)

 

HFx (L), PB (R): TOP DETAIL VIEW

(HFx has a notiriously shortened magazine.  But it doesn't look "wrong", really,  until you put it by one with a more accurate magazine size.)

 

HFx (T), PB (B): TOP VIEW

 

HFx (L), PB (R): FRONT VIEW

(As a reminder, I think the mould lines on the higher grade HFx models are cleaned up more, usually... but wow, that PB muzzle is SHARP)

 

PB (L), HFx (R): BACK VIEW

(Note that's my lamp chain D-ring, not one supplied by HFx.  The PB D-ring is rubber, moulded in one piece with the blaster itself, which is a pretty nice compromise, actually, since I doubt you'd want to risk putting much strain on that ring anyway.)

 

HFx (T), PB (B): RIGHT SIDE
Finally, a spring!

 

HFx (T), PB (B): LEFT SIDE:

One of the few issues I have with the PB: I wish the trigger was cut out more, behind it, as the HFx is.  I might try to do this, myself.

 

PB (L), HFx (R): BACK QUARTER VIEW

Note that magazine!

 

 

One area PB falls shorter, IMO, is the rail that the scope is mounted on.  While technically the rail itself seems more accurate than Hyperfirm's, it's filled with a pretty solid chunk of rubber.  The HFx rail is way less accurate... and ALSO filled in.  But the fill is very small and very thin, and as you can see, I cut mine out in the front and back (left it under the scope where it's hidden behind the Hengstler counter anyway, for extra stability), which I think was a distinct improvement.  I don't know, at this point, if that would be possible with the PB blaster.  You'd see a lot more cut rubber under the rail, since it's higher.

 

If there are any specific photos or closeups someone would like, please let me know!  I intend to add a bottom view shot soon... forgot to take that one!  Actually, I took one of the PB alone, just forgot to do one side by side with the HFx:

 

PB: BOTTOM VIEW

 

And just as one final pic that didn't fit anywhere else, I just love this detail shot, of the PB.  SO CLEAN!!!

 

Enjoy!

Edited November 16, 2018 by kman

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Thanks - these photos are much better quality then when I did a comparison a long time ago and really show the detail between the two.  

[ukswrath[Staff]]

For those who do not know, the folks who ran/owned Hyperfirm/Hfx split and went separate ways. We all know know what happened to the remaining party running Hfx however, the positive is the other party now run/owns Praetorian. So we lost a fine blaster manufacturer but gained a better quality product. No loss here really   

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I have a PB E-11 and have been very happy with the quality. I agree about the scope rail - their R1 E-11 has a hollow, real metal scope rail which I'm very jealous of. If they bring that over to the ANH I would be very tempted to upgrade.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

47 minutes ago, Harbinger said:

If they bring that over to the ANH I would be very tempted to upgrade.

That probably won't happen considering it's not screen accurate. That said you can always buy the scope kit and add it yourself .  

[Harbinger[IPM]]

I meant an accurate (metal) rail, but yeah, I suppose I could... though I'd probably mangle the blaster.

[kman[TK]]

Agreed, if they had a metal rail on this thing (similar to how they do on the R1 version), I'd be overjoyed.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

23 minutes ago, kman said:

Agreed, if they had a metal rail on this thing (similar to how they do on the R1 version), I'd be overjoyed.

When you guys say metal rail are you referring to the mount? 

 

[kman[TK]]

15 minutes ago, ukswrath said:

When you guys say metal rail are you referring to the mount? 

 

No, not the "tactical flashlight rail", just the scope rail.  We're referring to the metal (normally) rail that the M19 scope is attached to, running along the top.

 

Borrowing an image from the FISD E11 reference thread:

 

 

The scope should be mounted to a thin metal rail, like one of those above.  You should be able to see light between the rail and main tube/body of the blaster.  On both the Hyperfirm and PB blasters, they mold that rail out of rubber (instead of being metal), and connect it all the way to the body, underneath, so you can can't see under it.

 

On the Hyperfirm, the connection between the "rail" and the body is thin and can be cut away to make it look better.  On the PB, the rubber underneath the "rail" is THICK and would be very hard to cut away without seriously mangling the rubber underneath.  (But on the PB Rogue One E11 variant, they actually use a proper metal rail for this part.  That's what we'd like to see on the ANH version.)

Edited November 16, 2018 by kman

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Dang I was way off 

 

Had light on the brain. 

[kman[TK]]

1 minute ago, ukswrath said:

Dang I was way off 

They're both "rails", technically, so you get a pass.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

4 minutes ago, kman said:

They're both "rails", technically, so you get a pass.

Time for a refreshment lol. Since I'm on the correct page now maybe this is something we can suggest to PB. 

 

R1 E-ll btw

[kman[TK]]

YES!!!

 

The R1 rail is a bit too tall for ANH, but that should still be a really simple change for them.  I'd think.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

1 minute ago, kman said:

YES!!!

 

The R1 rail is a bit too tall for ANH, but that should still be a really simple change for them.  I'd think.

Agreed

[HippoBoy[TK]]

Would a praetorian blaster out of box be good for ventilation approval?

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[HippoBoy[TK]]

Would a praetorian blaster out of box be good for ventilation approval?

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I meant centurion approval....

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[ukswrath[Staff]]

13 hours ago, HippoBoy said:

I meant centurion approval....

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Yes

[MaskedVengeance[Staff]]

Greetings Troopers! I've just posted a new thread in the same vein as this one from @kman, with photos of the new Hellhounds / Trooperbay rubber E-11. In fact, this thread served as the inspiration and basis as mine, and I formatted my post to compliment this one. i.e. I used the exact same camera angles and perspectives so that between these two threads all three blasters could be compared against each other. Check it out below if you're interested in seeing a comparison between a new rubber blaster on the market and the old war horses. Below is a photo of the E-ll I purchased from @Hellhounds and used for my photo review. I'm loving it so far!

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by MaskedVengeance