Arliss Bubble Gun

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

I just thought I would share this Raygun I picked up recently. I have never seen one of these on ebay before, and the only one I've seen in books is red with yellow details. There is also a kind of cool story that goes along with the pick-up. When I came accross this piece on ebay it was a real moment of discovery because I've always loved this gun from it's picture in the book "Raygun". It was in a lot with two other guns, one of the other guns was missing several details, and this gun was missing half of the scope type piece on top. When I won it was a surprise because, due to the rarity of the piece, I had no idea how high it would go. Since I got the lot for a relatively moderate price, the missing scope piece must have been a factor in my opinion.

A week later the seller emails and tells me that they found the scope piece and sent it with the gun. - How often is something like that going to happen? :D

[robert]

That is a great looking pistol Fineas. And it's nice to see a sweet deal come through on occaision. The chances of getting a whole pistol when you are bidding on one with missing pieces is slim to none so revel in your luck my friend. Nice color combo as well. I think this is more striking than the red one.

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

Robert-

Speaking of sweet deals, you got an amazing deal on that Z-26 saucer a couple of days ago, so you would know! ;)

[dratomic]

Great win, Fineas. That's a pretty rare gun, and high up on many collectors' lists (including mine). And I agree with Robert -- yours is more striking than the red one.

[Robotnut]

Knowing nothing about rayguns, what is a "moderate" price

for a gun like this ? Just as a reference, what do plastic guns

of these type typically sell for ? Is raygun collecting more or

less expensive than robot collecting ? :huh:

www.robotnut.com

[robert]

Speaking of sweet deals, you got an amazing deal on that Z-26 saucer a couple of days ago, so you would know! ;)

Fineas, the only reason I got such a sweet deal was that 2 friends refrained from bidding on it! lol. Yea, I know that you already have one, but I'm glad you didn't jump in at the last minute when you saw how low it was going for!

It shipped Priority on Monday so I'm hoping to have it by tomorrow. Lookin forward to it!

[dratomic]

Robotnut -- It's hard to pin down exact prices, of course, but for the most part, ray guns from the Fifties -- especially the plastics -- are much less expensive than robots. That's one of the reasons I started collecting them! There are exceptions, of course; certain "holy grails" can command robot prices -- and do. And many old pressed steel guns can get pretty expensive. The thing is, there just aren't as many people willing to pay high prices for guns. Not enough ray gun collectors and, therefore, not as much competition for the available supply. It's no surprise that there are only two ray gun books, and only one great ray gun web site, as opposed to the dozen or so books, and however many sites, dedicated to robots.

I've given some APPROXIMATE prices, below. These can fluctuate wildly on ebay, as is the case with robots. Deals abound, especially with the plastic ray guns. And pieces from the Seventies and don't cost much at all.

Plastic

• Pyrotomic Disintegrator -- One of the rarest. I've seen them go for over $2000. I stole mine for $700. One on ebay recently sold for $1400. There are only about 10 of the gold/silver ones documented, and only three of the red/yellow/blue variations. One box known.

• Dan Dare Cosmic Ray Gun -- Not too common. Probably sells between $400 and $600. I've seen two boxed ones go for $1200 on ebay.

• Renwal Planet Jet -- Mint, it'll cost you anywhere between $440 and $550. If you find a carded one, it'll cost you WAY more. Add maybe $100 if the gun's red or blue... possibly more.

• Nu-Age Smoke Ring Gun -- I've seen them hit $250, but they commonly trade around $175, $200, loose. The yellow one costs a bit more; I've only seen one. Packs of smoke matches, when you can find them, cost about $75 each.

• Ranger Steel Cosmic Ray Gun -- Despite the company, it's a plastic toy. I've seen BOXED ones sell for under $100. I paid $78. Mint box, mint gun. Definitely a great value for a great toy.

• Ideal 3-Way Gun -- Anywhere between $80 and $150, loose.

• Tom Corbett Atomic Rifle -- Loose, they average $300 - $450.

• Pez Ray Gun (Fifties) -- About $200 - $300. Unless it's blue; one recently sold for about $1500. Yikes!

• Zoomeray Gun -- $30, loose. Great piece, great price.

• Irwin Click Gun -- Another cool piece, usually goes for somewhere around $60 - $85. The orange one gets a bit more than the silver, but I like the silver more.

• Tom Corbett/Rex Mars/Space Patrol Flashlight Gun (they're all the same, except for branding) -- Anwhere from $80 - $150, in good condition. Tom Corbett and Space Patrol pull more... Mint in box with all lenses... I've seen them hit $650. The sum is indeed worth more than the parts. The box and lenses are RARE.

• Ohio Arts Astro Ray -- $20 - $40, which is a nice deal for this big, bad flashlight/dart gun. If it's got the original darts and target, it'll still probably stay under $80.

• Arliss Signal Ray or Dart Gun -- $30... I've seen them go for even less, though. Even on their card, they don't command super high prices. And they're very cool. Much more common than the Bubble Gun that Fineas got.

• Planet Police Gun -- $225, boxed with original ammo. I've never seen a lose one, so I don't know what they'd get... probably not more than $150 or so. Possibly much less.

Steel Guns

• Buck Rogers XZ-31 Rocket Pistol -- the one that started it all! Can be had for anywhere between $150 and $400, depending on condition and version. Blued steel, in good condition, commands the best prices. Nice ones fall around $250, these days.

• Buck Rogers XZ-44 Liquid Helium Pistol -- $300 - $600, depending on minty-ness. I've seen a couple hit around $400 lately, all in decent condition. Some wear, but still nice.

• Flash Gordon Siren Gun -- I've seen them go for as low as $750, but I've seen more of them hit over $900. Very desirable, one of the best. Different color combinations, the green with red "tail" seems to do better than the reverse. A periwinkle one would probably get a lot... I know of one, but don't know it's price.

• Hubley Atomic Disintegrator -- They average around $300, but I got mine for $180, and I've seen many end in the $250 area. Boxed gets a lot more.

• Hiller Atom Ray Gun -- $200 - $300, usually. I've seen them hit the $400 range, but this is rare. I wouldn't pay it.

• Strato Cap Gun -- $100 - $250. They tend to settle around $150, $175, though.

Can't think of any others, offhand.

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

Robotnut-

I emailed and asked Dratomic to answer that question for you, I knew he could do the great job that he did in answering that question. Thank you Dratomic! :)

I paid $150.00 for the lot that included the Arliss Bubble Gun, but having no previous sales to go by I really had no idea what to expect. Several times that amount would not have surprised me, even considering the missing piece.

[dratomic]

I think $150 for the Arliss alone is a bit low, so you did well. I agree, the missing scope hurt the auction. Who would have guessed that the piece would turn up!

[HIGHWHEEL KICKER]

Great ray gun info dratomic.

HW-K

[Robotnut]

Thanks for the raygun info, at least I now know enough to

be dangerous. As kids, my brother and I had no guns of any

kind. If a relative gave us a gun as a present, it would

mysteriously disappear that night. We didn't even have GI Joe

until he became the Adventure Team in 1970. The only squirt

gun that I can remember having was one of these in green...

[Joe K.]

Hmmm...So, your parents thought guns were bad, but brass knuckles were good! Verrry interesting!!!

[dratomic]

For better or worse, I grew up with toy ray guns (albeit, ones from the Eighties), so these pieces hold a special place in my heart. I wish I had a Hubley Atomic Disintegrator when I was a kid, though -- I'd have ruled the playground.

[toyboy]

FJW-

You just totally KILLED ME with your story!!!

I had my eye on that Arliss auction group. Because it was missing it's scope, I got lazy and passed on it. I was planning on bidding on it just to have my hands on a Yellow Arliss Bubble Gun. WOW! - Your story is AMAZING!!! - Even though tears are streaming down my face right now with a big lump in my throat and my rear-end bruised from kicking myself...

Congratulations!

Glad to hear a story like that.

Thanks for sharing. - I think. : )

[toyboy]

Aaaaaargh!!!!!! *@#%!

(I'm sorry. I'm still trying my best to deal with your story, here)

I'll "let it go" soon... : )

Ugh. lol.