New Space Guns

[dratomic]

I just received these additions to the collection. Both are extremely rare, and it's taken me too darn long to find them. I'm in an exceptionally good mood. (I've got one other ray gun coming, but I didn't feel like waiting to post these pics.)

The first is the Cracker Jet, made by a British company called Mettoy in the 1950s. It's based on the Renwal Planet Jet molds, though it has spacier lettering than it's U.S. cousin. The green is actually metallic, but it's sort of hard to tell from the pic. It's a water pistol and clicker, and when the trigger's pulled, the rocket blasts forward. These turn up more often in Eurpope (which makes sense).

The next toy is the Captain Video Secret Ray Gun, complete with instruction sheet and glow-in-the-dark secret message map -- which still glows! (I've also got the original mailing box and the envelope that held the paper bits -- both are pretty plain looking.) It's a classy little premium. The battery goes in the back; it's spring-loaded, and is pushed forward to make the tip light. Pointing the gun at the glow-in-the-dark map -- or the large glow-in-the-dark surface on back -- causes different planets and symbols to illuminate. (The toy uses a proprietary AA-style battery that can't be replaced if lost or ruined, so I've got it in backwards to lessen the risk of corrosion.) Thanks for the gun, Rocket!

[dratomic]

Here's the current shelf arrangement.

Some close-ups...

[Fineas J. Whoopie]

A couple of tasty pieces there doc! The yellow and green pop together nicely, I might even like it better than the Planet Jet. And I always knew that the Secret ray gun came with the booklet but I did not know about how the booklet glows under the guns light - very cool! And the display is looking even more ass kicking these days (nice job with the improvised stand for the Tommy Ray). With everyone posting their latest ray gun pick ups I'll have to start my own thread to show off my latest additions.......

[toyboy]

WooHoo! Congratulations on your new pickups! You finally got your very own CRACKER JET! (I know you've been wanting one of those for a long time). You have a great reason to be in a good mood!!!

And WOW doc! What a fantastic collection your rays have grown to! I'm quite impressed. (and a bit shocked, to be quite frank). I had no idea you had so many rays. (And good ones too!)

I especially like how you've organized your display. I usually prefer displaying rays so that they all point in the same direction...but you've clearly demonstrated that it can work YOUR WAY as well. Very nice, man. Very nice.

That TOMMY RAY is gorgeous!...as well as the SPACE CADET RIFLE.

I noticed how you lovingly took time to put everything up too. How did you manage to stick those 10 small rubber corks up there?

What is that small, yellow rifle? Who made it? Is it a clicker or dart rifle?

I'm so drooling right now...

Thanks for the great picts. You do realize that by posting and sharing these fabulous photos...that you are probably inspiring more and more folks out there to follow suit and collect these beautiful things?! - You're just going to make it more difficult for us now! hehe.

It's all good.

Again...CONGRATS! I look forward to seeing your new acquisitions in the near future.

Yes Fineas! Yes. Please show us your rays!

[Sonny Young]

Wow! Love the shapes and colors. That big red rifle is a beauty (amazing that the delicate sights survived).

[dratomic]

Toyboy -- I wanted to set them up in all the same direction when I first began thinking about the display, but it proved impractical. Some guns have details that pretty much require they face one way or the other -- for instance, the decal on the Flash Gordon Signal gun, or the red switch on the side of the Rex Mars flashlight gun. So I decided to randomize it, but at the same time, maintain a certain degree of symetry within the actual sections of the display. It more or less worked out, though there are certain bits that I'd redo if I could. Swapping around the guns on the wall is a difficult proposition, so for now I'm leaving it alone. One day I might do a complete overhaul, but that's gotta wait until I'm feeling really motivated.

I'm not sure what the small yellow rifle is called. I bought it at a store in NYC, and a couple dealers I've spoken to have told me it's not that common a toy. It's a flashlight gun, though I can't get the trigger to move, so I'm not sure if it works or not. Something's gumming things up, I guess. I've only seen one other, in red.

The rubber pellets are attached to the wall with museum wax. They've been there for a couple months -- the rubber's so hard after 50+ years that it's practically plastic, and doesn't seem to react in any way to the museum wax (though I do check every couple weeks just to make sure). I don't actually love them where they are, but I haven't come up with any ideas that are much better, so...

Fin -- The Capt. Video gun comes with two paper products, an instruction booklet (really just a piece of paper that's been folded over once, with printing on all sides), and the solar system map. The map's the part that glows, and it's just one "page." One side features the symbols and planets and stuff, printed on paper; the other side is just a glow-in-the-dark surface with no printing on it. Instead, that whole side's coated with something that feels almost like plastic, but rough, like heavy-duty sandpaper or something. I'm amazed it still reacts to the light -- it's probably irradiating my home as I type this. That's fine. I never wanted kids, anyway.

And yes, you should definitely show off your collection.

[Andyman]

Love that Cracker Jet! first time I've ever seen anything like it. What's the Planet Jet look like?

*performs Jedi mind trick*

You will trade the Cracker Jet for an Andybot.

*ends Jedi mind trick*

;)

[dratomic]

The Planet Jet is on the shelf next to the yellow Renwal Solar Scout helmet, Andy. It's like the Cracker Jet, but has a yellow body, red tip and trigger , and blue rocket. There's also a blue version of the PJ, which has a red rocket and yellow tip and trigger; and a red PJ, which has a yellow rocket and blue tip and trigger. (The blue and red versions are the rarest of the lot, followed by the Cracker Jet, and then the Planet Jet. That said, the Planet Jet is extremely rare, especially in mint condition.)

[Andyman]

Wow, color does make a big difference, eh? Because I really dig the green/yellow combo.

[dratomic]

Yeah... Though, to be honest, the original yellow/red/blue Planet Jet is still my favorite, I think.

[WJN]

Fantastic collection, probably the best I've ever seen. It reinforces my (somewhat odd?) belief that plastic guns are somehow better or more desireable than tin ones. I have a Space Scout rifle (my all-time favorite) the same color as yours, but with a green tip, and a couple of the squirt guns you have.

I am green with envy and wet with drool! :P

[Phil R]

Dr. A, as usual some great additions to your collection. Love that green! I never get tired of looking at your collection.

It has been stated by some of their fear of guns. I hate to bring it up after some past postings. However, I don't even own a real gun or am interested in owning one. Ray(guns) are not guns in the true sense. They're fantasy works of art. :D

[dratomic]

WJN -- I think the plastic ones are more desirable than the Japanese tin litho guns, and I think many -- though not all -- hardcore ray gun collectors gravitate towards the plastic pieces. But there are many American steel guns, such as the Daisy Buck Rogers guns, the Hubley Atomic Disintegrator, the Hiller Atom Jet, and the Spin Ray, that attract not only the high-end collectors, but also a broad array of casual ray gun collectors. They're higher profile than the plastic ones, and tend to get more bidders (and often higher prices). This has been discussed at length in the topic on the boxed Pyrotomic Distintegrator that Phil started.

Personally, though -- I agree with you. I LOVE the plastic ones!

Phil -- Yep... That's something I've been meaning to address since David brought it up in another post. First, let me preface things by saying, up front, that I don't particularly like guns. I realize that the guns are less the issue than the people using them in bad ways, and I appreciate the fact that many -- most? -- gun owners are safe, responsible, law-abiding citizens. My stepdad has owned and carried guns for at least the last 25 years, and there's never been any sort of problem. However, I'm a firm believer in gun control laws and waiting lists and every other possible restriction that can be applied to owning a firearm. Short of removing guns entirely, like in the U.K. and other countries, I can't see any other way to improve the odds that criminals and maniacs won't end up blasting people.

All that said... I see space guns as a weird sort of fantasy prop. Yes, they -- in theory -- encouraged kids to indulge in the idea of taking violence into outer space. But this was a time when space exploration was equated closely to western expansion. And on the frontier -- a lawless, dangerous place, supposedly -- sometimes justice is served with a zap and a bang. Hostile aliens, space pirates, and interstellar despots populated the collective imaginations of the early science fiction fans -- especially the younger ones, to whom these toys were really marketed -- and the only appropriate way of dealing with and surviving these dangers was a trusty ray gun.

Besides, I'm living proof that kids who played with toy guns -- and I played with lots of them -- don't grow up to own or abuse real guns... they grow up to own expensive vintage toy ones. :)

But I'm not a little kid, and I know that we're more likely to need calipers and microscopes in space than ray guns. So, why my interest now?

First, they capture an aesthetic of a time period that I find interesting. I like mid-century modern design, and mid-century futurism.

But, more than that, it's the fact that, despite their nefarious nature, these guns were so colorful, so whimsical, so rife with imagination. It's the dichotomy of fun toy and dangerous weapon that takes these fanciful sculptures past the realm of "toy," beyond mere "design object," and into the realm of "art." I believe that powerful art does more than just look good. It inspires an emotion, drives people to think, and in the best circumstances, it does both. There's a troubling undercurrent of menace lurking beneath the playfulness.

I think art succeeds on an even greater level when it comments upon more than just itself, and what's wonderful about these ray guns is that their juxtaposition of light and dark provokes further thoughts on Fifties culture as a whole. Most people think about that decade as a time of blithe optimism regarding the future. This ignores the pill popping moms, the cold war paranoia, the rampant segregation and discrimination, the massive military build up, the U.S.-sponsored coups in Iran and South America, the Korean War... Not exactly the perfect wonderland. Space guns, as art, shine a light (of doom!) on the era, provoking thought and encouraging commentary.

Eh. There's more to it, but I'm late for a lunch date... ;)

[Andyman]

Sounds like the very similar view on robots, Doc. Have there been any studies on kids who played with a Thunder Robot growing up to become homicidal maniacs with propeller beanies on their heads? ;)

[dratomic]

Andy, I actually went back and re-wrote/expanded my comments above...