I adored toy guns as a kid. I was a baby boomer and the booms came mostly in the form of my terrifically impressive Johnny Seven One Man Army.
My Sixties childhood was also peppered by the sprays, pellets and sparks from water pistols, spud guns, Sekeidens and Ray guns. It was a plastic war zone.
But ah, ray guns! those bulbous, finned, colourful plastic toys straight from Flash Gordon's armoury and zapped straight into our hands. We were always running to the tap to refill them and pursue Ming mercilessly once more!
Fortunately those atomic designs still exist and water pistol party packs like this are available on Amazon even today!
Even my beloved 1964 Johnny Seven super rifle by Topper bristled with shiny chubby missiles in green and red. Yet somehow a gritty Sixties American realism crept in at Topper too. Just look at the straight lines and clunky body. This was a no ray gun. It was a goddam tank buster!
As the ray guns' rays faded some toy makers ditched the fins and bulbous bodies altogether and experimented purely with straight lines and slabs, making long planks of military plastic. Was this new brutalist breed a herald of a gutsier toy gun future perhaps?
One such plank was Chad Valley's obscure CV5 from 1975, a spy rifle 'super gun' repeater completely going against the grain of other contemporary toy Lugers, Schmeissers and Glocks available to most kid 007's back then.
The CV5's stripped-back looks, pump action and monotone colouring seem amazing now for 1975.
Were they a nod towards a more realistic toy battle, but one not fought in Blofeld's lair anymore but in the menacing vastness of space?
In 1977 Star Wars: A New Hope changed everything and the clunky weaponry recycled from World War Two would influence toy guns for a good few clicks at least.
When ALIEN splatted our screens in 1979 a new space gun was born in the goo, the Colonial Marines M41A Pulse Rifle made famous by Ripley, Hicks and co. In ALIENS.
An upcycled Thompson submachine gun, it was the M41A's body armour and pump action which made it colonial and pop culture gold. As far as I know it wasn't released as a toy. Not until NERF got hold of it recently.
Fans of the ALIENS films were quick to get the toy repainted in its true colonial marine green and black, a service offered by many online.
So, just what are NERF?
It's a super-successful brand belonging to American toy giants HASBRO and it essentially exploits foam rubber as safe ammo for countless plastic toys guns.
Although nerf foam rubber had been around for decades, beginning with balls at Parker Brothers, the first NERF gun was the Sharpshooter released in 1992.
Having come a long way since then, NERF have released 105 types of toy gun and merchandised many modern gaming blockbusters such as FORTNITE and HALO.
NERF's latest innovation is the Double Punch, a twin blaster reminiscent of a Star Wars AT-AT gun action.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=AY8HYu0_R50&feature=shared
There are millions upon millions of toy NERF weapons in the world. Entire car boot stalls and estate sales are brimming with them like this one. Maybe we'll drown in NERFs!
NERF aren't the only modern toy gunsmiths. There are many more. I'll end as I began with someone holding a toy gun but this time, unlike the kid in 1964, it's cool young adults brandishing super-modern stylized electric water pistols called SPYRA, essentially a big coloured block with a trigger.
The brutalists have conquered all design and toy guns are in the hands of adults these days!
Now where's my Johnny Seven? Oh yeah, Bill's playing with it!
Do you have any toy guns readers, old or NERF?
Kevin Davies sent us this shot of a customised NERF pistol he produced!
No comments:
Post a Comment