Red Hiller Atom Ray Gun

[Nick Danger]

I don't know if anyone has a definitive answer to this, but I thought I'd open the topic for discussion.  An auction for a red Hiller Atom Ray Gun recently closed on eBay...

 

 

...and I was concerned about the flat finish on the paint and the silver lettering.  I had only seen glossy finishes and no silver lettering on other examples.  So, I did a little research and only got more confused.  It seems there isn't a consistent finish on these pieces.  Here's one with a glossy finish...

 

 

...and here's another, but as you can see, the nut in back is painted, as if the gun was painted post-assembly...

 

 

Here's another with a painted nut...

 

 

And another with an unpainted nut:

 

 

And to complicate matters ever further, while I've found a few period advertisements for this toy, NONE of them advertise the red version.  So I have to ask, is this even a genuine, factory-released version?  Are all of them home-painted?  Are some of them factory-painted and some home-painted?  Or are all of them factory-painted and there really was a wide range of finishes?

 

[Brian..]

I've never found Toy Tent to be a reliable source of information. 

 

I understood there was a red version of the Hiller, but I've not seen confirmation. 

[Nick Danger]

I forgot to mention that there's also a red version on page 13 of ZAP!  The nut is also painted over, but so is this gasket between the water reservoir and the lid.

[Andyman]

I appears the painted nut versions are not brass nuts as in the unpainted versions. Or is that a poor picture?