Space Gun (Unknown / 1950s / U.S. / 3.5 x 5 inches)

Space Gun. Yep. That's all I've got. I don't know what it's called, I don't know who made it. I do know, however, that it's got a great design with lots of detail, and there ain't nothing much cooler than silver plastic.

This little clicker also came in a rainbow of colors, most commonly red, blue, and green. It's not a difficult toy to find, thought its thin, brittle plastic means a lot of them come up damaged. Still, it's a potentially inexpensive addition to any collection.

If anyone's got any hard and fast info on this gun, please let me know!

Raydionic Resonator Beam Space Gun (Multum / 1950s / U.K. / 5 x 9 inches)

Here's another great ray gun from across the pond: The Raydionic Resonator. Say it with me: "Ray-Dee-Onik Rez-Oh-Nator." Kinda rolls off the tongue, right?

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.