Let us speak of the TRACER GUN!

[jayrath]

And its fabulous neon-colored "Jet Disks!"

Once upon a time, in the early '70s, the Tracer Gun and the AMT model were all there was to licensed merchandise. I kept waiting for the gun to show up in an episode!

(Still waiting. Hmmm. Maybe in the new film? Those tiny plastic frisbees must be ret-conned!)

 

[Outpost4]

I'd forgotten all about that. I wanted one but mom wouldn't let me buy it. She knew she'd be picking up little discs forever.

 

[Forbin]

Still have mine! It works, too. Sometimes.

 

[Hambone]

Still have mine! It works, too. Sometimes.

Yup, I had one. I shot my sister's eye out.

 

[22 Stars]

I can still feel the spring loaded trigger against my finger, waiting to hear that *snap!* releasing the discs into the living room with 70's olive green carpet.

 

[EnsignRicky]

If that's the toy that fired those little nickle sized red, green and yellow discs, I always wanted the phaser version. I had the Space 1999 one that came with some sort of utility belt; It kinda looked like a staple gun. It was still a lot of fun though.

 

[A beaker full of death]

If that's the toy that fired those little nickle sized red, green and yellow discs... I had the Space 1999 one that came with some sort of utility belt; It kinda looked like a staple gun. It was still a lot of fun though.

I had that too! Forgot all about it!

 

[Turbo]

I remember those! My brother and I both had Batman versions in the early 90s. We drove our mother crazy with 'em.

ETA: What? Did I make you all feel old or something?

 

[Harry]

What.. no pictures?

This is all before my time.. but I have some pictures of a "Star Trek Astro-Helmet" I found on eBay once.. anyone of you ever had that tacky piece of plastic as a toy?

 

[Shatmandu]

My favorite was the Ertl phaser, communicator, and tricorder model set. I treasured those things for years.

And repairing them caused my penchant for sniffing glue.

Joe, has typed "penchant" a lot lately

 

[EnsignRicky]

If this is the Star Trek one, I had this one too; It just didn't come in Trek packaging. I had a couple of those refill packs too.

http://www.samstoybox.com/toys/TracerGun.html

Unless there was one that actually looked like a Phaser, I liked my Space 1999 one much better.

 

[Trevacious]

Yup, I had one. I shot my sister's eye out.

Sweet.

I miss those dangerous toys of my youth.

 

[Redfern]

My favorite was the Ertl phaser, communicator, and tricorder model set. I treasured those things for years.

I got the "Exploration Kit" in '74 or '75 when it was first realeased and the company was still known as AMT. Yeah, some fans laugh at it now for the "inaccuracies" and the diminutive scale, but when my friend Kyle and I had to previously make do with Flair brand felt tip markers for phasers and his mother's makeup compacts for communicators, they were a godsend! And since we hadn't yet hit our teens (I was born in Nov. '62), the scale was perfect for our wee lil' hands.

Here's a link to a Cult TV Man article with several photos of the completed pieces:

http://culttvman.com/kevin_stooksbury_s_exploration.html

(Sadly, some of the original parts were damaged or outright missing, so the modeler had to improvise.)

Anyone else not bother to properly scrape off the chrome where the parts should be glued and thus suffer the frustration of beam emitters dropping off and moire disks falling into the sealed shell of the communicators? Too bad I was not smart enough to consider literally bolting the emitter to the phaser and using hot glue to reenforce the "internal" chrome pieces within the comm' and tricorder. If we had been more innovative, we would have gotten acrylic rods for the emitter "nib", plastic "jewels" for the buttons and an actual knob for the back of the phaser. I did, however, have the brains to dig up a strap for the tricorder (sine I played Spock to Kyle's Kirk).

Fun times, fun times!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Trevacious]

Was there ever a Star Trek version of a propeller ray gun like this one, back in the 70s, or did I dream that?

 

[Trevacious]

I got the "Exploration Kit" in '74 or '75 when it was first realeased and the company was still known as AMT.

Yes, I remember well the frustration of buttons and moire disc falling out of the frame and into the casing where they'd rattle around uselessly...

I wanted to ask -- wasn't there also a toy store version of this same explorer set, along with a belt? Scaled the same, probably using the same molds, only bolted together instead of requiring glue like the model kit version?

 

[Redfern]

Was there ever a Star Trek version of a propeller ray gun like this one, back in the 70s, or did I dream that?

I personally never came across one packaged as a Trek item, but doesn't mean it wasn't done. However, Kyle and I did use this toy as a phaser before the Exploration Set debuted.

As to your next post, while I was "Googling" for info' on the prop assembly kit, I stumbled across a site that displayed other mid '70s phaser toys. (Sorry, I don't have the link immediately available.) They were of various scales, but oddly enough, they seemed to repeat the same "inaccuracies" of the AMT version in terms of overall shape.

I bought one phaser toy listed as being electronic. Again, it vaguely had that AMT shape, but it was considerably larger and just, well, bulkier. My elation crashed into the ground the moment I first pulled the trigger. Instead of the famous "shriek", I heard a "chirp" like a communicator being opened in slow playback! (Rats, no "crying" smilie.) I felt too embarrassed to show my buddy Kyle this "clunker". In comparison, the AMT kit version was far superior.

Still, with the AMT 18 inch Enterprise being re-released later this year (packaged with the 1967 box art), it would be a neat bit of nostalgia if the Exploration Set were offered again as well. (Please, don't let this "daydream" to blossum into a full fledged "fact" that it is coming back. As far as I know it is NOT.)

EDIT: Ah! I found a link to several phaser toys, including the depressing Remco "chirping" weapon I had and the propeller launching phaser you wondered whether or not existed.

http://waffyjon.blogspot.com/2008/02/found-on-ebay-star-trek-goodies.html

Funny what one can stumble across!

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Gorn66]

The Astro Helmet turned up in "Hardware Wars" being worn by Fluke Starbucker.

 

[Proximity_Phaser]

And its fabulous neon-colored "Jet Disks!"

Once upon a time, in the early '70s, the Tracer Gun and the AMT model were all there was to licensed merchandise. I kept waiting for the gun to show up in an episode!

(Still waiting. Hmmm. Maybe in the new film? Those tiny plastic frisbees must be ret-conned!)

What the hell are you talking about?

 

[Nardpuncher]

I had that die cast Enterprise whith the shuttle bay on the bottom with a little orange shuttle inside, it could fire little disks out the front too.


Just found this link, with the Dinky Enterprise and even that helmet!
http://waffyjon.blogspot.com/search/label/Star%20Trek