dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 The Atomic Arsenal's grown a bit in the last few weeks. Figured that a few of you who're interested in ray guns might get a kick out of these...First, a Nu Age Smoke Ring Gun. These came with packs of rocket-shaped smoke matches -- I expect to be picking one up in a couple weeks. For now, just the gun... The action's pretty neat. The metal piece underneath the barrel flips down, a smoke match is inserted, and the piece is closed. This causes the match to strike against some coarse paper; the match ignites and fills the chamber with smoke. Pulling the trigger moves a rubber bellows back and forth which forces out smoke rings. Neat. And dangerous -- I can't imagine a toy like this being made today. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 This is an Atom Flash Zoomeray, mint in box. The toy's similar to a Chinese Yo-Yo -- while holding the gun, flip your wrist forward to cause a paper roll to extend from the front of the barrel. I love the fact that this gun is defined by it's negative space -- the holes, fins, and ridges. The box, with it's nuclear mushroom cloud, captures fear and paranoia surrounding the emerging technology of the 1950s. It starkly contrasts the simplicity and innocence of the toy itself. "Safe and Harmless" my ass. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Okay, guess there's more than a couple new pieces... This next one is a really nice clicker space gun made by Irwin (who also makes the Shooting Man From Mars). This is the only ray gun from the Sixties that I own -- but look at it! How could I resist. :) A variation features a reverse color scheme -- orange-red, with silver details. I like them both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Last gun... This is a pretty rare Planet Police gun, with target box and original ammunition. The rubber bullets are all loaded into the gun's barrel. To fire, all you do is squeeze the bulb. The gun's a rifle, in theory -- it's actually only about 10 inches long! Still, it's so "spacey" looking. Definitely a favorite of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Last pic (I promise!) A saucer that I picked up a few weeks ago. I don't REALLY collect saucers, but the litho on this one's always attracted me. And I like that it has a tin pilot -- there's a variation with a plastic astronaut in it. The toy rolls around with bump and go action while the lights flash around it's perimeter. The pilot sort of moves side to side within the plastic dome. It's not the rarest piece in the world -- and didn't cost very much at all on ebay -- but I happen to think it's rather attractive looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Cool stuff dratomic! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robothunter Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Oh, no. All is happening as I have forseen it...Your first space toy! It's all over now. You have set on a path that, much like the path you entered after your first space gun, will lead you to a whole new world of cool stuff. Forget about ever having any money in your pockets after this. While it's always hard to find robots to spend your hard earned cash on...there are always space toys all over the place.Stop now before it's too late!!!! LOL!!!!Hell, I LOVE space toys! In fact, I think the tin-litho battery-operated astronauts and space toys of the 1950's are way cooler and more creative than the robots ever were!! THere! I said it!!Now I better duck and run for cover.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Tesla Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 The box, with it's nuclear mushroom cloud, captures fear and paranoia surrounding the emerging technology of the 1950s. It starkly contrasts the simplicity and innocence of the toy itself. "Safe and Harmless" my ass. :) Well, safe and harmless compared to a 40 megaton nuclear device, maybe. When I think of the "playthings" that came out of the 50s and 60s, I'm surprised that many of us made it to adulthood. How about all those super-toxic Gilbert and ChemCraft chemistry sets---"Geez, just what little Johnny wanted for Christmas, Cobalt Chloride and concentrated Hydrochloric Acid!"---or those incredibly dangerous molten plastic injection kits. Damn, those were the good old days! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Pat -- It's not too likely that I'll dive into space toys. I like saucers, I like rockets -- ray guns and robots, too (obviously). But they've got emotional resonance. The tanks, cars, tractors, etc, don't click in my mind the way these other toys do. So I'm pretty safe... for now...Nikola -- There's a lot of conflicting information on that box, which is why I love it. It never actually says that the toy is safe and harmless -- only the "space missile of tomorrow." Illustrated with a mushroom cloud... Nuclear war was THE big fear in 1950s America. Whether you figured the communists were a threat or not, you still worried that one wrong order, one mis-pressed button, could blow the planet straight to hell. So to use that as a marketing tool is kind of odd. Undercutting it with "safe and harmless" borders on deranged. Who're they trying to reassure? Parents, by implying the toy's fine for kids? On the surface, sure. But maybe society, as well, by subconsciously linking images of the bomb with messages of safety.I know, I'm probably reading WAY too far into it. But still, it's fun to put your head in that space when contemplating these old marketing schemes. Imagine if I put out a toy today with a picture of anthrax and the words "safe and harmless." Hm... ;)As for dangerous toys... Tell me about it. Smoke guns, dart guns, metal guns with sharp edges... The Hubley Atomic Disintegrator weighs about two pounds. All you'd need to do is smack little Jimmy over the head with it and suddenly you're playing alone. That's one serious hunk of metal. Toys like that won't ever get made again. Too bad, in a way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Tesla Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Nuclear war was THE big fear in 1950s America. So to use that as a marketing tool is kind of odd. Who're they trying to reassure? Parents, by implying the toy's fine for kids? But maybe society, as well, by subconsciously linking images of the bomb with messages of safety.As I've commented before, I think that robots, spaceships, rayguns and all the accessories really flourished in the 50s and 60s for one obvious reason and one not-so-obvious reason---The obvious reason was a marketing parallel to the "March of Science" following WWII and the advent of the bomb. It was like every kid's fantasy and nightmare come true---the weapons of tomorrow TODAY! What kid could resist?The less obvious reason may have been a very real effort to place "advanced technology" into the hands of the public, as a placebo, to heighten the illusion that our advancing weapons technology was under some sort of control. Look at the 1950s American family---they were on the cutting edge of science and technology. Hey, Dad had his futuristic automatic transmission, Mom had her self-cleaning oven and dishwasher, and little Johnny had his atomic robots and space gear. Science was safe enough for the whole family (or so they thought)! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 I've always thought that these two themes would make great subjects to specialize in. Imagine collections that focused on toys that were extremely dangerous and would never be allowed in this day and age, or toys that have a nuclear or atomic theme to them. A collector who pursued these subjects would have plenty of pieces to collect, and once amassed, would have very interesting collections in my opinion. Dratomic already has a head start on toys with an "atomic" theme. One of the most incredibly dangerous toys I can think of are the home foundry sets. These toys encourage a child to play with MOLTEN LEAD for pete's sake. :o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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