dratomic Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Thanks to an amazing Alphadromer (who wishes to remain anonymous) for hooking me up with this excellent toy!I've posted pics of my two Triple Shot Sky-Guns before, but this is the first time I've seen one complete, mint-in-bag. The header card provides some extra information, as well as a couple laughs...1. It's apparently called the MARTIAN Triple Shot Sky-Gun, and the propellors are, in fact, Satellite Chasers.2. While we already knew it was made by Mercury Plastics, we now know it's product No. 704. Mercury Plastics was out of Des Moines, Iowa, and, as it says on the back of the card, it was the "Exclusive outlet on Planet Earth." The gun is pat. No. D-164,398.3. According to the package, the gun is meant to fire one, two, or all three <i>at the same time</i>. Definitely more impressive than the run-of-the-mill propellor gun, which only fires a single prop. The Satellite Chasers are made from "Safe, Soft Unbreakable Polyethylene." Also, "No other gun is as powerful or as safe as the Skygun [sic]."4. Original price: 59 cents.5. The back says: "Only the Sky-Gun... Launches more than one missile at a time... has a sensible, easy, rear-wind mechanism... Shoots Polyethylene Satellite Chasers. Action Packed. Fun Packed. Different." (Punctuation and capitalization preserved...) I love that they advertised the "sensible, easy, rear-wind mechanism." Because all eight-year-olds are "sensible." :) (I know, it was geared towards parents...)6. The back also says, "For the most fun on Earth, buy these other Martian toys: The Fabulous Martian Water Bug, the Fascinating Martian Yogi Pipe with Fireballs, the Sensational Martian "Guided Whistle" Bloon Rockets with launcher." Seriously -- Yogi Pipe with Fireballs?! Awesome!More importantly, the mention of the "Guided Whistle" Bloon Rockets with launcher is one of the few references to this toy outside of <i>Ray Gun</i>, by Gene Metcalf -- and he doesn't say much in the entry beyond the name and general stats. It's interesting to find that it's part of a larger "series" of toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roboz Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Very Cool Doc , congrats !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxPower Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I remember getting a similar toy gun when I was in the first grade, and LOVED it!Mostly because it was so much fun to shoot those "satellites" at my sister who was terrified of them.<Bugs Bunny Voice> "Aint I a stinker?" </Bugs Bunny Voice>Congrats on a scoring such a beautiful example, Doc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 How cool is that? I've never seen that header card either or realized that the gun was designed to shoot three props at a time. I guess we'll have to keep our eyes out for the other Martian toys in this series. By the way, did you notice how the word "Martian" on the header card is the same type style as the "Martian" on the Bloon Gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted August 18, 2008 Author Share Posted August 18, 2008 Cool detail, Don.Neither my bagged gun nor my loose one have the word "Martian" on them. However, they do say "Mercury Line" on the handles... My variant of the gun doesn't say any of the things this one says -- it IS from Des Moines, Iowa, though, making me think that Mercury Plastics became -- or spun off -- Propello Toys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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