Toys Buck Rogers

the first buck rogers toys appeared in 1933, 4 years after newspaper strip debuted , year after radio show first aired. mark beginning of modern character based licensed merchandising, in not character s name , image branded on many unrelated products, on many items of merchandise unique or directly inspired character. of many toys associated buck rogers, none more closely identified franchise eponymous toy rayguns.

the first buck rogers gun wasn t technically raygun, although futuristic shape , distinctive lines set pattern space guns follow. xz-31 rocket pistol, 9½-inch pop gun produced distinctive zap! sound, @ american toy fair in february 1934. retailed 50¢, no means inexpensive during great depression, designed mimic rocket pistols seen in comic strips inception. in comics, automatic pistols fired explosive rockets instead of bullets, each round effective 20th-century hand grenade.

the xz-31 rocket pistol, first of 6 toy guns manufactured on next 2 decades daisy, had exclusive contract john dille, head of national newspaper syndicate of america, buck rogers toys. of these pop guns, had virtue being noisemakers couldn t fire actual projectiles , guaranteed harmless 1 of selling points.

the xz-35 rocket pistol, smaller 7-inch version without of detail of original s called wilma pistol collectors, followed in 1935, retailing 25¢ , arguably offering less value quintuple initial price. consumers hardly noticed, because in 1935 floodgates opened , had lot choices. both xz-31 , xz-35 cast in blued steel silvery nickel accents.

the xz-38 disintegrator pistol, first actual ray gun toy , such iconic symbol of franchise made cameo appearance in first episode of 1939 movie serial, if show audience seeing indeed real thing, debuted in 1935. 10-inch pop gun topped flint-and-striker sparkler using mechanism not unlike used in cigarette lighters, cast in distinctive metallic copper color.

the xz-44 liquid helium water pistol produced in late 1935 , 1936. loaded syringe dipping nozzle container of water , drawing plunger, advertised capable of shooting 50 times without reloading.

in 1946, following world war ii , advent of atomic bomb, daisy reissued xz-38 in silver finish mimicked new jet aircraft of day u-235 atomic pistol. then, pop guns considered old-fashioned, , buck rogers franchise losing luster, having been overtaken real-world events , prospect of actual manned space flight.

by 1952, daisy lost exclusive license buck rogers name , dropped pretense of making toy raygun. final offering reissue of xz-35 garish red, white, blue , yellow color scheme, dubbed zooka. buck rogers rocket pistol had started 20 years earlier had been overtaken real world bazooka.

space guns in general , rayguns in particular gained in prestige cold war space race began , interest in buck rogers stuff renewed, no longer enough offer futuristic cap or pop gun. proper raygun needed project sort of ray if capture imaginations of would-be space travelers of 1950s americans. enter era of plastic battery-powered flashlight raygun.

in 1953, norton-honer introduced sonic ray gun, 7½-inch flashlight mounted on pistol grip. pressing trigger activated not flashlight beam (which had interchangeable colored lenses differently colored rays ) electronic buzzer. therefore used pretend raygun actual morse code signal device.

this toy, , successor, norton-honer super sonic ray gun, featured prominently in actual buck rogers newspaper strips of time, many of concluded secret message in morse code variant called rocket rangers international code, key available sending self-addressed stamped envelope newspaper syndicate or cheat sheet included in package toy.

in 1934, rocket police patrol ship windup red , green tin toy spaceship produced louis marx & company buck seated in cockpit holding ray gun rifle. second orange , yellow patrol ship released same year marx window profile portraits of both wilma , buddy deering on right side , buck , dr huer on left side. both tin toys in collection of smithsonian s national air , space museum in washington, d.c.

in 1936, line of buck rogers painted lead metal toy soldier three-inch figures made british market. these set of 6 british premium figures cream of wheat , included buck, dr. huer, wilma, kane, ardala , unidentified mekkano man robot.

in 1937, tootsietoys put out six-piece die cast metal set of 4 5″ long space ships , 2 1.75″ tall figures of buck , wilma.

in 2009 , 2011, 2 versions of buck rogers action figures released entertainment/toy companies go hero , zica toys . first vintage version of buck rogers appeared in original comic strip. 1:6 scale figure of buck wears 1930s period uniform including visor leather plastic helmet , vest, glass bubble space helmet, red light plastic flame jet pack, mini gold colored metal xz-38 disintegrator ray pistol , wooden slotted lid box limited edition number 1000. second 1:9 scale figure based on gil gerard wearing white flight suit 1979 movie/tv series , features tigerman figure.