dratomic Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Man, am I a happy camper. I've wanted this toy for years, and for years I've had to suffer in silence as it eluded my grasp. (Sometimes the suffering wasn't so silent, as Fineas can attest from my past bitching and moaning every time one slipped through my grasp!) It's the Dan Dare Cosmic Ray Gun, made in the U.K. by Palitoy in the mid-Fifties. Pretty rare, especially mint-in-box like this. It features a great color-changing beam of light and a nice, old-fashioned ("classic") clicking sound. It's also, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful ray guns ever produced. It's so beautiful, in fact, that not one, but two other companies ripped off the design to make their own toys! And that box! Wowee! Great graphics, with a wonderful die-cut insert that points out all the ray gun's special features.Ah, bliss. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RotoBadger Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Simply beautiful! Congratulations Brian! It feels great to get that toy (robot, gun, etc) that you've been after for so long. And you got a PERFECT example. Looks like the seller had a time machine! So have you decided where it will go in the display? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Congratulations Brian! I saw the auction and am glad it found it's way to your display! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Roto -- I've given it a temporary home in the display, but I'm not thrilled with it. I suspect I'll have to do some serious re-arranging to make it work the way I want it to work. For now, though, this is what's happening:I'm using small acrylic stands to support the die-cut insert. It's okay... not perfect, but at least it's secure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkrobot Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Doc,,,,,I can understand your excitement at getting this one,,,and mint-in-box aswell.......Fantastic... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milwaukeemachineman Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 O.K. Guys.....When the ALIENS ATTACK US we all haed over to Doc's place for the raygun of your choice to keep America safe!Absolutely a FANTASTIC collection Dr. A, What a pleasure to behold, now which one's don't you have again?"Where doe he get those "WONDERFUL" toys"!!!!!!Happy collecting.....Always Doc!!MMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perigee Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 That's beautiful, Doc - even the insert is unstained. It's a jewel in the collection, all right; congratulations!-Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Ahhhhhh..... :D A truly momentous addition to that incredible collection Doc. How many times in the past years have you been poised to add this piece to your collection and for one reason or another it just didn't happen? It seemed like once or twice a year we would discuss some example for sale or up for auction. Well I think there is no doubt it was well worth the wait! No question this is one of the top ray gun designs of all time - now a part of one of the top ray gun collections of all time. Super triple congratulations Doc!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 That is one nice piece. Congratulations! At home where it belongs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 She's a beauty, Doc!Although...wouldn't you think that the green light would be for gamma rays? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kirk Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Tri-congratulations! That's quite a nice one. What violent box art. He's blasting that poor fellow right in the kisser, and the guy in the front looks so smug. This is English, right? Their art always has a different look from American, or certainly Japanese art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morbius Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Brian, I'm so glad for you with this 'museum' piece, just as you always choose 'em!!I've always waited for the best in existence for anything I'm looking for (after buying a couple of sub-par items 30+ years ago and always regretting it) and your collection shows you do the same. It's a museum type piece even with it's own explanation of the entire toy as a bonus. Obviously old store-stock by the minimal wear to the edges of the box. I'm ecstatic for you...it's a great piece of history as well as a very interesting toy. Artwork is superb, better watch out now before long you'll be savouring too many classic boxes on top of those great cabinets!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil R Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Brian, congratulations! Quality and excellence as usual. I wonder if that's the one I saw for sale on Ebay recently. If not, it doesn't matter. It doesn't get any better than that. Superb gun! One of my favorites. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyboy Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 WOWEE!! - (Drool...Drool...Slurp...Slurp!!!)Congrats Doc on finally picking up a superb example of a Primo ray gun! - One of my all time faves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Phil -- Yep, it was the one most recently on eBay. Quick story -- The eBay seller had originally purchased it for his own collection from a prominent toy dealer a couple years ago. I'd actually considered buying it from the dealer myself, but I didn't have the money at the time (this was one of those instances Don just mentioned). So it was great having a second chance to add it to my collection. It's amazing, sometimes, to think about how small our collecting world really is... Morbius -- I've always collected ray gun boxes. The economics aren't as bad as collecting robot boxes, since ray guns are much less expensive to begin with. However, I never require the ray guns to be boxed... if I can snag them, I will, if not, I don't worry about it. EXCEPT, however, for the Dan Dare gun. I passed on one or two lose ones because I HAD to have the box. It makes for such a nice display. This is one of the few toys where the box was an absolute requirement. :)As for it being old store stock... Perhaps. The toy is very delicate, and the only mint ones I've ever seen also had their boxes. Every loose one -- EVERY loose one -- was broken in some way. So I wonder if all the mint examples are store stock of some sort. Or, maybe, British kids took better care of their toys than US kids did...I just noticed, the box has a name written on the back, very lightly, very small and unobtrusive. Perhaps the original owner? I think it's kind of neat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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