This is unusual. I only this week saw a reference to it in my Cramer Burke's Spy Toys reference book:
The Wild Wild West Secret Sleeve Gun.
By spy toy kings Ray Line it's a small Derringer style toy pistol on a telescoping frame.
Oddly enough I can't see any mention of the show The Wild Wild West on the card.
Is it a TV show you know?
Yes. It was a spyfi show set in the old west. It followed two treasury agents who fought comical evel doers who somehow acquired Victorian technology. Great show.
ReplyDeleteSpyfi, I like that!
DeleteI seem to remember this toy with a Roy Rogers theme. They also had a gun hat and belt buckle.
ReplyDeleteReally? Pictures please.
DeleteI never had any of the toys I only remember the TV commercials and store displays. Upon further research it seems the three toys were not related. The gun hat was made by the Ideal toy company and had the Roy Rogers name associated with it.
DeleteThe derringer belt buckle was made by Marx. It is often referred to as a Secret Sam item but is much older. There are examples of both on eBay at the moment. I hadn't thought about them in a long time.
DeleteFascinating stuff Anon.
DeleteBasically it was James Bond in the Wild West. Grant was President, so that dates it to 1869-77. James West was a Secret Service agent, along with his partner Artemus Gordon, who have their own railway carriage, which acts as their mobile operations base. They battle various Super Villains in the James Bond mould. The series originally ran from 1965 to 1969. Great series. I have the full DVD boxed set. Forget the 1999 movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. You have an amazing DVD stash. I've never seen the 1999 movie but I used to see the McDonalds toys at boot sales quite a lot.
DeleteThe 1999 WWW movie came out just as I was working on Val Kilmer's Red Planet. The Art Department was developing AMEE, a robot spider and after WWW tanked so badly at the box office, a complete redesign was hastily ordered!
DeleteI enjoyed Red Planet Looey. RIP Val Kilmer.
DeleteUntil 2003 the Secret Service was a division of the Treasury Department. Their primary mission was to prevent currency counterfitting.
ReplyDeleteReally? I thought they were there to protect POTUS.
DeleteProtecting the President was added to the duties of the Secret Service following the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865. That is what they are best known for, as it is the part of their job that the public sees the most.
ReplyDeleteIn trouble. I'd no idea they had an earlier role. You would think they'd just be absorbed into the FBI.
DeleteThat should say incredible! Damn auto spell!
DeleteThe Wild Wild West was one of my favorite shows as a young 'un. However, when trying to watch reruns it's very hard to sit through them again. A lot of water has passed under the bridge I'm afraid! Oh, BTW, the steam engine they used for that series now sits in the Nevada State Railroad Museum up in Carson City and I saw it ten years ago.
ReplyDeleteGreat that you saw it Ed. And the engine is still around. How cool!
DeleteIn the movie 'The Sheriff Of Fractured Jaw' with Kenneth More and Jayne Mansfield, Jonathan Tibbs (More) has a similar device which propels a gun into his hand from up his sleeve. Maybe this toy is based on that.
ReplyDeleteInteresting Kid. I'll check it out. Thanks.
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