Space Gun No. 172

[Tinplate6]

Time savers are great things, and toy guns that can set up their target and shoot it down, all with one hand, are no exception. The simply named "Space Gun" was made in Hong Kong by an unknown manufacturer.

It comes bagged with two darts and two targets. The design is simple; the target satellite is loaded at the rear of the gun, instead of the front, and a dart is placed in the barrel. The unique part of the design is the location of the release button for the saucer, it sits just above the top of your hand. :huh:

With a light flex of the muscles, you fire the target, and losing no momentum, take aim and shoot it out of the sky, it's very efficient. Additionally, even the shape of the gun improves your chances of success; by angling the barrel upwards, instead of the usual straight forward alignment, you are already aimed at the saucer before you pull the trigger, a lot of thought went into this simple toy gun. ^_^

[Joe K.]

Similar in form and function as Park Plastics' Dart 'N Skeet gun as pictured here in this 1962 ad:

from this Timeline thread:

http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/index.php?showtopic=10599

[Tinplate6]

Joe, you've got that right, with the exception of the rockets and satellites on my gun, the design is almost identical :unsure: . I would guess my gun is probably late 60's or even early 70's, could it be Park's old molds? Maybe, but more likely just a cheaper copy, the original Park gun looks a bit more substantial.