This article pulls together all the research I've done on the blog about the Fireball XL5 toy rifle over the years.
It tracks the toy's interchange between the sleek XL5 style to the clunkier 007 Tommy Buster.
it comes full circle back to Gerry Anderson at the end with the TV21 Tommy Buster.
Your views, pictures, stories and additions welcomed
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This is the glorious Fireball XL5 plastic toy rifle.
lesterdemon
I am unsure who manufactured it or when. It may have been Lone Star.
I assume it was released during the Fireball XL5 TV show's run between 1962 and 1963. Whether anything like appeared in the show I'm unsure. You?
From the pictures I've seen though the toy looks quite beautiful and is oddly reminiscent of the jet age - atomic style like Captain Video, Space Patrol and toys like Renwal's lovely colourful ray gun and helmet pictured below.
Despite not being able to find out who made the Fireball XL5 rifle, certain parts of it do remind me of other toys.
These are the Johnny Seven's Butt edge 'teeth' and the Tigrett Zoomeray's 'holed' handle, which vaguely recalls the holed superstructure inside the XL5's cockpit.
You can see the similarities below. I've also seen that big red butt cylinder somewhere but cannot think where.
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The Fireball XL5 rifle has a number of clones. Whether these are forerunners or successors its hard to say, another Anderson chicken and egg.
Perhaps a very detailed timeline of the different additions would provide the answer but in the meantime here are the 'other' Fireball and similar rifles collated from many online sources [I do not own any of these toys].
Capitan Marte,
Spain
Maker unknown
[Image: Alphadrome]
the clone of clones, a near perfect copy of the Fireball XL5 rifle
[Capitan Marte means Captain Mars]
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Jyesa
Spain
1971
[left, centre]
A multi-coloured clone of the original Fireball XL5 rifle similar to the the Capitan Marte rifle.
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Tada Tommy Kick
1970
English box seen on Main Street Toys website 2015
[picture unavailable]
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Tada
Tommy kick
Japanese box 1970
Tada
Sound of Space
1970
[chunkier style: note the change of butt style and the addition of the sound box and radar similar to the Ideal Man from Uncle Thrush Gun]
Alphadrome
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Interstellar Gun ST-302
Greece?
[a copy of Tada's Sound of Space]
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Leizer or Leizec? 200
Alfa Toys
Greece
missiles now added to the mix!
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Space Machine Gun
Baravelli
Italy
bottom right.
This rifle may well be the same as the Greek version above
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Spain
Unknown Make
Top left
Similar to the Greek and Italian rifles above
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James Bond
Thunderball Special Agent
Lone Star/ TADA Japan
1973
Similar to to Greek, Italian and Spanish versions above
Note the Johnny Seven/ Secret Sam style lettering on the butt.
There are Japanese TADA versions too.
Vectis
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Jolly Seven
TADA
Same rifle as above
Jamesbondtoys.com
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Tommy Buster 007
Lone Star / Atom Japan
Nothing in common with the above except the maker and the Johnny Seven/ Secret Sam style lettering on the butt
Hakes
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Agent 21 Tommy Buster
Lone Star/ Atom Japan?
TV21
reader offer
Came with TV21 paperwork - no images found
[anyone know more about the 21 Tommy Buster offer and the toy?]
A fine piece of XL5 toy rifle research and an absorbing read, Woodsy! Impressive how you've backed your case and illustrated the links between these toy rifle designs. What fantastic toy rifles they were... beautiful Tommy Buster & Thunderball Special Agent :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Tone. Sometimes its fun to pull together what's already been blogged and this was one of those times with a few additions thrown in as well. There's over 10,000 posts now! The XL5 rifle is a lovely toy space rifle. I didn't have one but I may have had a James Bond toy rifle like this or the fun-named Jolly Seven.
DeleteBy moment when I was looking at the miniature in blogger news feed:
ReplyDelete"Oh, what a weird toy guita... oh wait that is a rifle?". Really it looked a bit like those toy plastic guitars
I agree Ranulcus, it does look like a toy guitar! Oddly enough, I loved plastic toy guitars when I was a kid! They had plastic strings and felt great in the hand! Did you have any?
Delete