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Zoom! (-eray)


dratomic

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I've always liked Tigrett's Zoomeray. It's a strange, abstract little sculpture. No moving parts on the gun, just that paper yo-yo that fires with a flip of the wrist.

post-124-0-31218900-1326523271.jpg

The red version is most common, and the earliest version came with a metallic purple fringe attached to the front of the paper roll (which also features spacey graphics). It was sold both boxed and bagged, but I've only seen the purple fringe on boxed examples.

post-124-0-73352300-1326523293.jpg

A few years ago I learned about a yellow version, and I thought it was pretty neat! Yellow's a great color for plastic ray guns because even the shallowest details really pop against the lighter color. Red's cool, too, but I find some of the more subtle bits -- like text, for instance -- can get lost. You can see the plainer paper roll most often found on bagged examples. These plain rolls were also sold as replacements for when the original one got torn to shreds.

post-124-0-86953400-1326523314.jpg

Not long after the yellow one landed in my lap, good ol' Fineas picked up a gold version. Gold! Freakin' amazing! I lusted after it from afar, but he and I eventually worked out a trade and I was able to stick it on my toy shelf. It's got some nice streaks of darker gold running through it -- those lines aren't cracks -- and its roll features a Native American face. This is the same roll that's commonly found on Tigrett's Jet Zoom gun.

post-124-0-75136700-1326523331.jpg

Finally, not too long ago, I managed to score a blue version of the Zoomeray off eBay. I'd never even heard of one in blue, so it was a fun little discovery. There aren't nearly enough blue ray guns in the world. The roll on this one implores people to buy Defense Bonds, so I'm guessing this was some sort of premium or something. I can't imagine a kid's toy having an add for Defense Bonds, but then again... the Fifties were a strange and fascinating time, and the more I explore the decade, the less I'm surprised by any of the weirdness it throws at me.

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Anyone else have any of the color variations? What about other colors entirely -- I'd love to see some pics of those (if they even exist).

For further reference:

Article about Tigrett (scroll down) -- http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/topic/10241-the-jet-zoom-gun-and-box/page__st__8

Timeline Entry -- http://danefield.com/alpha/forums/topic/10607-1951-zoomeray-by-tigrett/

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Doc, a nice review on the zoomeray colors. I assume the blue one is the recent one on ebay. I was considering bidding on it. Glad you got it. I really like the metallic one which I don't remember ever seeing before.

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Yep, the blue one was on eBay. I was glad to get it so cheap -- though not surprised. This isn't generally a gun that commands high prices, no matter how unusual the color. Thanks for not driving up the price, Phil! :)

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Nice collection Doc, thanks for showing them. I have to agree with Phil, I like the gold one, it is worth lusting for.

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Ha ha. Yeah, the gold one is pretty awesome. I had no idea it even existed when Don told me about it. I keep thinking that if there's a gold one, there might be a silver one, too. Bu nothing's popped up yet, and I haven't met anyone who's heard of one.

Oh, btw, the boxed example is actually the second I've owned. The first was super mint... according to the photos. It never actually made it to my house. I won it two weeks before Christmas a few years ago. I sent a money order -- this was in the days before Pay Pal -- and the seller sent the gun right before the holidays. That was the last anyone saw of it.

I wasn't bugged too much by the money, it only cost me $40. But the fact that a super clean, boxed Zoomeray was gone, lost in the holiday ether, was kind of a bummer. I keep hoping that, at the very least, it was accidentally delivered to some kid. Maybe he had fun playing with it or something... But more likely, it's still sitting in a mail room somewhere, gathering dust, waiting for some collector to dig it out in another 50 years.

I snagged a replacement for about $25, which was nice, but I'm still looking for a super mint example to replace the one I *should* have had! :)

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  • 2 months later...

I love the Zoomeray gun, I recently found this online. I knew there were several colors but hadn't ever seen this one before.

zoomeray.thumb.jpg.385a75414286cff7a9ba0

 

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Wow! That's one unusual looking Zoomeray... Completely new to me, too.

Parts of it look like the typical marbled plastic, but other sections look almost like they've been faded by the sun or something. Very odd... I've also never seen that version of the roll before.

BTW, I was visiting a collector a couple weekends ago and was shown another, plainer version of the Zoomeray box. It's similar to the box that I've seen with the yellow Jet Zoom gun, which makes me wonder if it held the yellow Zoomeray... I forgot to ask the collector if his box also came with a gun, and if so, what color.

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Great collection Doc! I love the box art and phrases...automatically reloades itself...space missile of tomorrow! Thanks for posting.

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  • 5 years later...

Since I couldn't get an Aussie version I did get this red one made by Tigrett. It has a space themed yoyo tape with words "official contest zoomerang". I also got a stick version which which has the same tape but I can unfurl it to see the images.

IMG_20170814_231007.jpg

IMG_20170814_231045.jpg

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  • 8 months later...
On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2012 at 1:33 AM, dratomic said:

I was visiting a collector a couple weekends ago and was shown another, plainer version of the Zoomeray box.

Doc, was it one like this:

zoomeray box front.jpg

zoomeray box rear.jpg

zoomeray box side.jpg

zoomeray gun.jpg

and, has anybody ever seen the Zoomermatic Game shown on the rear of the box?

zoomermatic game.jpg

The recently ended listing:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1950-039-s-Tigrett-USA-ATOM-FLASH-ZOOMERAY-Plastic-Toy-Space-Gun-Near-Mint-in-Box-/183178957460?hash=item2aa6511294%3Ag%3Abe0AAOSw9-Va0lDT&nma=true&si=WkS%2Bh%2FVZu5X0JhSL%2FD4TZG%2FFwOM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

 

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Man, I can't even remember at this point. :)

 

Interestingly, the Zoomeray in the photo you just posted has marbled plastic similar to one posted way up in the thread. (Or so it appears in the photo...)

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