Old Or Repro?

[Sparkrobot]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shudo-Tinplate-Frict...1QQcmdZViewItem Does any one know if this gun is old or is it a repro..I was thinking about collecting Ray guns ,but are these small tin one's worth collecting,I quite like them and there seems to be a lot ao them about,What do you ray gun collectors think,,Give me your opinions on Ray gun collecting,at least it will stop me thinking about buying robots all the time ,,Or am I just swapping one addiction for another..Thanks..

[martijn]

see kitahara's yesterdays toys3 page 77

[plasticaugie]

Bad sparkrobot bad!

Its time for your public flogging, I hope you're not as old as Mike Van as this hurts me more than it hurts you,

SMACK BOOM POW.

There, all done.

[Sparkrobot]

What are you all trying to tell me .Dont collect rayguns or Just dont collect Bad one's ? :blink:

[mike van]

Well, you're only as old as you feel - :D But, somedays I feel like i'm 100. The aging process sucks, that about sums it up - :closedeyes:

[Sparkrobot]

Well I hope wer'e not starting a survey Who's the oldest Alphadrome member ,Because it's one prize I might just win !!..Why did I put my age on my profile!?,Anyway when I asked the original question Old or Repro I was talking about Rayguns ,not myself ..

[duxastrogirl]

Sparkrobot, I think they are refering to the fact that we agreed not to post any ACTIVE auctions from any auction service in the world (that's when any one has the chance to bid on it) here.

[Rocket]

Welcome to the disease, Sparkrobot! There are NO bad ray guns, only bad ray gun collectors. The gun you show is not a repro, but is a bit late... the Japanese made zillions of tin litho ray guns, many of which are the same platform with just different lithography. Don't pay too much, there is only a relatively small number of higher value tin litho guns.... my best advice: know your stuff before you buy.

Not to toot my own horn, but my site, www.toyraygun.com, (built by the venerable Gene Metcalf who wrote Raygun, and turned it over to me several years ago) is a good place to see what's out there, and decide what you like. The main site is strictly an archive to research guns and see photos.

And of course, there are the resident ray gun heads on the 'drome like myself, Dr. Atomic, and Fineas J Whoopie (and I'm sure others) who are always happy to expound on the glory that are ray guns....

Best part about collecting ray guns is they are plentiful, and there are guns for virtually every budget! I just got in a collection of 160 vintage ray guns I am selling; there are guns as cheap as $10, and as expensive as $1600. You may want to pick a theme or criteria.. say only plastic guns, or maybe only guns under a certain value, or maybe only guns from a certain country like Japan or Spain. Many countries produced seriously cool ray guns, and many copied American designs, or made them their own, making them very interesting. I started with only 1930s steel guns, but of course eventually it changed to whatever I like in any catagory.... I've had the disease big time for 15 years now.

The downside to collecting ray guns is displaying them, but once you get enough to display, we'll start another thread with the hundreds of creative ways to accomplish that.

Good luck and feel free to contact me if I can help.

Rocket -[O_O]-

[toyboy]

Sparkrobot - That looks to me like a legitimate, "old," vintage Japanese raygun. - Not a repro.

When you asked , "...are these small tin one's worth collecting"... Of course, it's worth collecting! - Anything is!

The value or "worth" is negotiatble. But I say, collect something if YOU like it! That's what matters.

If everyone told me that the robots that I am collecting today won't be worth a dime in the future, I still wouldn't stop.

I collect because it's my passion...obsession...or addiction...whatever. It's fun and I love it.

Ask yourself WHY Rayguns? Do you like their shapes?...Colors?...Designs?...What they represent to you?...

Or is it truly to swap one addiction for another? - I hardy doubt that one will cure the other. The sickness just tends to spread and GROW.

Happy Collecting and see ya in therapy!

[dratomic]

Sparkrobot -- don't over think it. Collect the pieces that hit you in the gut. If you see a piece and it appeals to you in any way, then it's worth collecting. As has been said, there's no such thing as a bad piece. The key, however, is to make sure you know how much something is worth so you pay accordingly. While you might love a modern ray gun as much as a particular vintage gun, you still don't want to pay too much for something you can pick up anywhere for a few bucks. EDUCATION is the way to go.

As Rocket pointed out, there are excellent guns in every price range, but beware -- just because you SAY you're only going to collect guns for under X dollars doesn't mean you won't fall in love with a gun that's way MORE than X dollars! It's a slippery slope, especially as you become familiar with more toys and you begin to develop a sense of what appeals to you. Don't say I didn't warn ya!

You know, now that I've been thinking a bit, there is ONE category of gun you DON'T want to collect: Guns That Dr. Atomic Wants To Own. ;)

Good luck! It's great having another space gun head on the board.

[larry seven]

:) I think that a collection of ray guns looks great on the wall, and compliments the robots theme perfectly. Some members here have posted photos of them beautifully displayed. You do whatever you want! -Larry7

[Sparkrobot]

Sparkrobot, I think they are refering to the fact that we agreed not to post any ACTIVE auctions from any auction service in the world (that's when any one has the chance to bid on it) here.

Thanks duxastrogirl,,I dont think I was a member when that was agreed,,I will go and stand in a corner now for at least a couple of hours, well minutes anyway,,Do you know of any other Alphadrome ''rules'' I should know before I put my big [old] foot in it again..No harm done though I hope... :blush:

[Sparkrobot]

I just bought this one to kick start my Ray gun collection,it's not tin plate but it's one I remember having as a kid,so as a member said earlier ''as long as you like it ,thats good enough for your collection'' so that's how I will carry on .I also thought they were hard to display , but I remember looking at someone's collection recently who had quite a few displayed on a white background , I thought at the time how great they looked,so that's whats responsable for this re-newd interest in Ray guns..[Rockets and Flying saucers next,,HELP!!! :rolleyes:

[toyboy]

I believe that might have been dratomics display? - He really has it nicely laid out.

Your new SPACE OUTLAW is a great gun! I especially like the lines of the gun, it's red spark windows and the rocket details on the grip!

You had this gun when you were a child? - That's fantastic. What better way to begin your collection?! Now you have a little story that goes with it as well!

[dratomic]

The Space Outlaw's a popular gun, and hard to find in nice condition. (Well, not hard to find, but hard to WIN!) Definitely a cool Sixties, Barbarella-style look to it.

Yeah, my collection is set against a white background. There's a pic of it in the Member's Collections section. (Though it's been updated a lot since I took that photo -- as soon as a couple pieces show up, I'll post some new shots.)