Rocket Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Here is another of the finds in the huge ray gun collection I got in... This is a VERY early space gun by a Japanese company whose logo looks like "OKA" in a small diamond with "Trade Mark" above it, and "Japan" below it. It is quite obviously a western pop gun with cork attached to a string, but with the novel addition of ringed planets and stars on the tin section to tie into the poplularity of space serials. It's about as early and primitive as I have ever seen. It measures 11" long, and still has the cork and string attached! I'm really starting to turn on to the earliest Japanese space toys, the ones just after the war.... this is my best so far! (Made of both wood and tin.) More guns to come when I get time to shoot photos.. Rocket -[O_O]- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 I love the colors. It certainly has a primitive charm. I like the way that the litho trim piece in the stock is nailed on! Looking forward to more. I don't know who your collection came from, but they seemed to be way ahead of the game when it came to selecting collectable pieces - far removed from the mainstream idea of what is desirable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Fantastic -rememeber as Ray Rohr pointed out to me -the Japanese were doing great and very colorful toys long before they started with space toys and robots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe K. Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Again, according to William C. Gallagher's book, Japanese Toys: Initials: OKA Company: Oka Gangu Seisakusho English name: (Oka Toy Manufacturing) Trademark derivation:Oka Gangu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartzenegger Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 man thats cool looking. what is the market price for that gun?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Rocket, that's a fascinating gun. In my mind's eye I can see the post war Japanese shops painting these babies by hand. The solar emblems and designs would have precluded the 50s rush of scifi movies. The red must have been a thought to make it more "spacey", or they could have had a lot of red paint. After all, red a prominent part of the flag! I know you're trying to keep the postings brief with new entries on the collection but I would have enjoyed looking at all the guns again with a continuation of the original post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Rocket, Please contact me at redmanrestores@suscom.net. It's important. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 I love this board! Where else could I post a photo of a goofy old toy, and not only be taken seriously, but also get such a positive, appreciative response?! So often we cast our pearls before swine, but to show off our best goodies to those who 'get it' is wonderful! Phil R, I have sent you an email, please let me know if you don't receive it? I was going to add this gun to the other post, but it got too convoluted, so I thought I'd start fresh here. And bartzenegger, I have NO idea of market value on this toy... only certain space gun collectors would likely pay any real money for it... guys who know what it is, and how scarce it is... but it would likely get passed over by the general ray gun collector in favor of more 'spacey' designs. But I suppose if you collect early Japanese tin, this would be a must-have, then the sky's the limit on what anyone would pay... I would think $300+ wouldn't be out of line, especially since it has the original cork and string! And Robert, I agree with you, I LOVE that it's nailed together! the string is nailed to the band that holds the barrel to the stock on the other side too.. it gives it a very 'home-made' flavor. Years ago, I may not have cared so much about a toy like this, but as is usually the case, the longer I'm into a certain collectible, the more I gravitate toward the beginnings.. the earliest iterations of the genre. More pix of unusual guns to come next week.... unfortunately, that was the last of the early Japanese stuff in the collection, but I did get some neat, and unusual Brittish guns... stay tuned. Rocket -[O_O]- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Here's the cowboy version of this gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Very cool, it's almost as if the space idea was an afterthought. How cool to think of some toymaker first getting the idea of space as a motif and trying it out on this gun. Rocket or Phil - can you see inside the barrel of your gun? Does it appear to be made of scrap tin? I've seen a similar gun (not space themed though) at a collectibles show and it had tin can litho inside the barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Very interesting... Definitely a great primitive design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 OK, I couldn't resist... here is another from the collection... the HUGE Space Patrol Auto-Sonic Rifle. I believe this was a mail-in premium through Ralston Purina. Made by U.S. Plastics, Pasadena, Ca. (hmmm, mere miles from where I live...), this bad boy sports beautiful swirling in the plastic, and killer fins in the rear. Cock the front handle, and it shoots rubber balls. There was likely a target included, but I only have the gun. At over 2 feet, (26" to be exact), I can't imagine a whole bunch of 'em survived... It's graceful, simple, and undeniably spacey. (Ooops! I accidentally got some robots in that one shot... sorry! ;o) Rocket -[O_O]- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry seven Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Nice one Rocket! Love it. Speaking of odd spacy versions of western guns, I gave my dad a Daisy Lunar Jet rifle for his birthday this year, -he'd never seen one before. It brought a smile. Phil, that's the version that I see sometimes of that gun, -the western style. Possibly these cheapo toys such as a cork gun could have been made for a longer (or just larger) production run than one might think. I can invision those being in the dime stores back in the day for many years run and still selling. I think that they would even sell nowadays at the flea markets. -Larry7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 That's my favorite rifle. I hurt. Just beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted December 12, 2006 Share Posted December 12, 2006 Another version of the wood rifle. Not mine, however. I believe I prefer the blue over the red . ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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