Nerf Biathalon Target

I love modifying Nerf guns. So a few years back when I was invited to the Maker Faire in Groningen (Holland) I knew I had to bring a few. To prevent the kids from just randomly firing at things/people I decided to build this Nerf Biathlon target. It was actually a last minute decision and I had to finish it on the location, but I am really happy how it turned out.

It did not only survive the Maker Faire, but also a bft. 9 strong gale (I accidentally forgot it outside), so I guess it is safe to say that it is really stable

You will need the following things:

• 5 mm ply wood
• wood glue
• white and black spray paint
• 1 x 1 cm wooden stick
• flange bearing 6*13*5mm
• m4 threaded bar
• 5 mm drill bit
• string
• five ring screws

I uploaded my design to this step.

Before starting to laser cut the pieces, figure out how you would like to hold everything up. Wooden poles will work just fine. I used aluminium profiles, but they are way more expensive. Add the corresponding holes you need to hold it up.

You should start by painting all the pieces white. I didn't and regretted it later.

Then start by gluing them together as shown in the pictures. I used the 1x1 cm wooden stick to add some extra stability.

Now you can assemble the paddles. Simply to so, as shown in images. As you can see I added some wooden strips to add some extra stability.

Paint the inside of the paddles black and add the bearings.

Next we are going to make the mechanism work. Drill 5 mm holes into the middle of 3 cm long 1x1 cm sticks and screw them the piece that is shown in the third picture. Make sure that the threaded bar fits through the holes.

Put the paddles in between the distance holders and screw them in place.

Next you will have to screw the ring screws in place and add the strings as shown in the pictures. They are going to prevent the mechanism from going down too far.

Add a long string. It will help moving the paddles back down after they were hit.

As you can see in the picture, there is some duct tape on the paddles. The reason for that is that when I first assembled everything I noticed that the paddles weren't heavy enough. Since I was already at the Maker Fair all I could find was some duct tape and nuts. So I simply used the duct tape to hold the nuts in place and it worked really well.

Have fun with your new target.