This spiffy little toy has a flashlight that changes colors via a small switch on top of the lens assembly. Flipping the switch to one side or the other moves either a green or red gel in front of the bulb. Simple and elegant, it's a system that -- with minor tweaks here and there -- pops up in many different ray guns. The Raydionic also makes a clicking noise when you pull the trigger.
This is definitely a rare toy, though another British company called Pifco will appropriate the body design a few years later for use in its Zeta Ray line of guns. More on those when I get around to them. For now, rejoice in the fact that I don't actually have much more to say about the Raydionic, and instead will leave you to admire the pictures.
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Hi Doc! First of all, thanks for a great site that brings back loads of happy childhood memories from the early 1950s when I was collecting space toys. I had one of these Raydionic space guns, and if I remember rightly it also made a highly satisfactory buzzing sound when the trigger was pulled?
ReplyDeleteThanks again and keep up the good work! Graham (from the UK.
Hi, Graham. I'm glad you enjoy the site and that posts like this one help bring back some memories. I love hearing from people who owned these toys as a kid. It's so easy to get wrapped up in their identities as collectibles that we all sometimes forget that kids used to actually PLAY with them! It's important to remember that, first and foremost, these are toys -- and should be appreciated as such. (Albeit appreciated CAREFULLY!)
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, the Raydionic does make a buzzing noise, though whether or not it's "satisfying" depends on whether you asked the kid playing with it -- or his or her parents!