Singer Telepathic Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 Hello- I'm a new member to the group and I'm real happy registration has re-opened so I can chat with all of you.Back in 1995, I helped a guy create an ad for a reproduction of a Buck Roger's XZ-38 he was wanting to produce and sell. His version was recast in BRONZE, it looked and worked like the original (popped and struck a flint spark in the top chamber) was really beautiful, came with a presentation frame and medallion -- but it was going to sell for $700! On top of that, once you gave your $200 deposit, you had to wait 4-6 MONTHS for it. Jumpin' jet streams! I tried very hard to explain that as a ray gun collector (I had written ZAP! Ray Gun Classics a few years earlier), I strongly felt this was WAY over the market. At that time, you could pretty much buy a vintage mint one if you could find it. This was before ebay. Anyway he had one made which I had photographed. I'm sorry that I only have one of the b/w pre-final shots, not the color photo or ad. Anway, has anyone ever seen or even heard of this man's atomic dream (nightmare)? I don't know if any were actually sold. I'm going to try and attach the black and white photo, it's my first time at it. Hope to hear from some of you. Leslie Singer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Okay... first... I'd like to say hello, and welcome to the board. I'm a huge fan of Zap!, it was one of the books that sent me down the long and obsessive road of ray gun collecting. I think you did a fantastic job of blazing a trail for the rest of us, and I really appreciate the effort that went into such a groundbreaking piece of collectibles documentation.And with that, I'll stop kissing ass. ;)In all seriousness, it's great to have such a long-time ray gun collector on the board, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you've got to say on the subject.As for the Ektek X-38... Can't say I've ever heard of it. I agree with you, though -- $700 seems way over the top. For $700, you can get a mint original, plus have money left over for a decent XZ-31. Granted, it's a post-eBay world, and prices are much lower... But I think that people who have that kind of money and who love vintage space guns want to own VINTAGE space guns. And those who can't afford an original surely can't afford $700 for a reproduction... So it's a bit self defeating.Also, you say that this was pre-eBay... The site really made it clear how many of these guns are out there. Rare, yes, but not THAT rare. So the demand for reproductions isn't as high as it might have been a decade or so ago. That alone could kill such a project.Anyway, I'd certainly like to hear more about the Ektek if you find out more information... Sounds like a neat project, if slightly misguided. And once again, welcome to the board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Welcome to Alphadrome Leslie! It's great to see you joining up - your book is one of my favorite. I look forward to "talking shop" with you. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 Fineas, I don't know if you are correct but I do remember the guns and have attempted to find if they were advertised in Antique toy World, etc. with no luck so far. Toy Tent has a plated Hubley which I didn't think was original. I do have photos of these guns sold this year. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singer Telepathic Posted September 4, 2007 Author Share Posted September 4, 2007 Hi again and thanks for the welcome. I always love hearing about how ZAP inspired some people to become obsessed with ray guns. :-)No, the person who formed EKTEK was not Dan Dozier, in fact, he was not even a collector or a person familiar with the collectibles market. He just had this idea and was determined to see it through. It was, as several of you have pointed out, misguided. I insisted that this was not a viable idea, but he insisted on doing it anyway-- and the rest is non-history.Those other Buck Rogers models shown in this thread are very nice. There never really was a black one, was there? I like the idea of plating some guns although I've never done it. In fact, someone did a (faux?) gold plating with black grips on a Hubley Disintegrator and it was one of the most stunning things I had ever seen. Anyone remember who that was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkrobot Posted September 4, 2007 Share Posted September 4, 2007 ST,,,,,,,That's easier,although I think that's a great name you've come up with!,,,I'm only posting this to welcome you aboard,,I know very little about Rayguns,they are not really my thing ,Really the only reason for that is ,I hav'nt got enough money to collect rayguns And robots,So as robots were my first love that's how it's stayed.........I had a little go at collecting rayguns ashort while ago,but the main thing that bugged me was they are pretty hard to display,Dont get me wrong there are a few dromers who have made a great job of displaying them,it's just my Sci-Fi ,mainly Robots collection is 'housed'in my living room,and a whole wall of rayguns was pushing the wife too far :blink: ;) Who knows,if I get a bigger house ,then Rayguns will deffinately feature somewhere..I hav'nt bought your book yet,but I'm allways hearing good things about it,So when the Raygun collection starts 'proper'that's when I will buy it..Wellcome again!!!I'm sure you'll love it here. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 ST, firstly welcome to Alphadrome! Secondly, I remember the ads for those reproduction bronze Ektek X-38 ray guns. I wasn't actively collecting at the time but I remember that they were very cool looking and VERY expensive. They were kind of like Franklin Mint ads in magazines if I remember correctly. Had they been considerbly cheaper I would have jumped into collecting a lot sooner.So the questions that pop up are: How many did he intially make? How many did he actually sell? Have these reproductions ever come up on ebay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singer Telepathic Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Thanks for the welcome, Andyman. I actually don't know if he sold any! I believe there were two already made, one that we photographed for the ad and possibly another he might have had. The idea of the 4-6 month waiting period was to give him time to make the guns as the orders came in. I have never seen or heard of one since then. I tried staying in touch, but he just paid his bills and I never heard from him again. It also came with a reprint of the original Buck Rogers story booklet put out by Cocomalt (I think.) His copy had no ad on the back cover. I have seen a few of those over the years, but not sure they were from his reprinting. BTW, he had full permission from the Dille family to reproduce the gun, use the name, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Wow, if only two were made, I'd say they are definitely worth at least $700 now. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I was under the impression that the plated Hubley was made by Toy Tent, but I could be wrong... Fin, can you confirm one way or the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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