dratomic Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Just got this fantastic Atomic Ray Pistol from Zoomer Toys. It was made in the United Kingdom by Tudor Rose in the 1950s. (I don't suppose the Brits on this board can pinpoint a more exact date, by any chance...?) It's not very common -- maybe more so in Europe? -- and rarely found with any of its darts. The firing mechanism's pretty simple -- there's a rubber band running top to bottom inside the barrel, just behind the rings (the rubber band actually sticks out of the gun and attaches to small pegs). The dart has that "claw" bit in the rear because it wraps around this rubber band, drawing it back, and then the dart clicks into place. It's a lot like a bow and arrow... Then, when you pull the trigger, the dart launches out of the gun. Interestingly, the whole dart actually slides into the barrel -- nothing sticking out (unlike most guns, which leave the front suction cup exposed). The red knobs on the sides spin freely -- they actually come out pretty easily, too, which is why they guns, when they do come up for sale, are often missing them. I've wanted one of these for a while, and it's nice to finally find one in good condition and at a fair price. Toni over at Zoomer Toys also include a wonderful reproduction card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Toyman Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Hi Doc, well this takes me back to a toy fair at the Crest Hotel in Liverpool in the mid / late 80's, I bought this gun in this colour off Brian for £10.00...AND it was carded with all three darts prersent. I seem to remember the card being blue in colour with the darts underneath the gun and a picture of a spaceman floating in space firing the gun??? Am I right? (so wish I still had it, along with the Nomura Batman I sold Toni)Noel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilroy Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Great pickup doc, looks like it will display really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Doc,,, that is one heck of a cool gun ! I'm intrigued by the dart retention mechanism !!! Very different. The best part of "you" finding new toys is the description ! I can actually hear you saying the words. The emphasis on a particular word. Nobody puts more emotion into a description or story than you do. You convey the essence of the moment and have the ability to take a nanosecond event and stretch it into a timeless endeavor !!! Cheers !!!! It's a very nice Gun !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 the ability to take a nanosecond event and stretch it into a timeless endeavor !!!Kind of like a black hole... (My response was going to be, "Are you calling me a wind-bag?!" with a little " ;) " to show that I was kidding. But I like the black hole reference more. It's part of my "use astrophysics once a day" mental work-out routine.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Doc,,, come on... I would never ever consider you a windbag. Me yes, you no. The Black Hole thing ,,,,,,yeah that's kind of it. Except I consider the reciprocal of a Black Hole to be a Quasar ! A shining light that has no known source of energy . The dark becomes the light.. A Singularity bridge into another dimension!! You gun is still way cool. !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 No no, I was kidding about the "wind bag" comment. Hence the ;).The black hole reference, though, was along the lines of, "a moment in time stretched to infinity," which is what happens when it reaches the singularity and time and space become caught up in the near-infinite gravity of the collapsing star. It all gets stretched out as the bits nearest the black hole get sucked in faster and faster, while the bits farther away kind of stay where they are. Ouch!:) Glad you like the gun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinman Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Very cool Doc. One of my favorite guns for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Event Horizon !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyboy Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Great pickup Doc! - (WITH DARTS TOO!) Sweet! Those little things are very hard to find and are usually missing from the gun.The silver color of your gun looks great too. This is somewhat an unusual color. I've seen this gun in the copper/gold version...How many other colors of this ray are out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 Eagle: Terrible movie, but yep, that's what I was talking about. ;)Toyboy: I was actually going to email you with the same question. I knew about the copper version -- for some reason, I was under the impression that it was the rarer variation. There's a silver one pictured in Blast Off, I've only seen the copper one that Zoomer Toys had for sale (both on their site and, for a brief moment, on eBay... Sadly, it's been sold). If there are any other colors, I haven't seen them.Have you seen other examples of either the copper or silver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toyboy Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Doc: No I haven't seen any other colors. I was just curious if you knew of any. YES! - The Blast Off book! - I was trying to figure out where I had seen a photo of the Silver one before. Not truly sure which color is "rarer" than the other. I kinda figure that they're BOTH RARE in my book! Ha :-)I've seen the carded, copper one. I wonder if this silver was packaged and sold in the same way? I've never seen a silver gun attached to the illustrated card. Have you?My favorite part of the gun (besides the weird looking darts)...is the VELOCITY "slider" setting on the side of the gun. - Very cool!!!I forget...Does that actually do anything or is it purely aesthetic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dratomic Posted September 20, 2008 Author Share Posted September 20, 2008 My gun came packaged on the same reproduction card as the copper (that's a repro card, too). I'm guessing both versions of the toy originally came on cards... And with three darts. The spaces for the darts are indicated on the card (in white) but not actually cut out (a clear way to tell it's a reproduction, in case there was any doubt...). The slider on the gun is purely aesthetic. Only the knobs turn (independently of each other, unlike, say, the knobs on the Tom Corbett Atomic Rifle). It'd be great if it actually slide back and forth, but that's probably more than we can ask for from a simple plastic toy gun. :)Oh, I forgot to mention -- it's a clicker, also. The gun makes a really loud clicking noise regardless as to whether the dart's in place or not. Neat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fineas J. Whoopie Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Congrats Doc. This baby could define what a desireable 1950's plastic raygun is all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electric Robot and Son Posted September 22, 2008 Share Posted September 22, 2008 I concur, I have the silver one with darts and have seen the copper one several times on ebay but no other colors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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