Sunday, January 24, 2016

At Flashbak: Shoot Out in Space (Tomy; 1978)



This week at Flashbak I also remembered a fun toy from Tomy, in 1978: Shoot Out In Space!



“Here’s another great collectible from the disco-decade and the post-Star Wars (1977) sci-fi boom. Now, toy ray guns go back to the 1930s, but this was a new wrinkle on an old idea.

Manufactured by Tomy (No. 2509) in 1978, this set is called Shoot Out in Space. I suppose you would term it a game of outer space marksmanship. Basically, it’s a plastic gun, and a rotating (space-age) shooting gallery of rubber rockets.

The actual object of the game? 

Disable enemy rockets with a mysterious beam of light."  The toy involves “cosmic combat with a ray gun, revolving space station and enemy rockets.

Players (or shooters….) could modify the plastic laser weapon by making the "ray gun hand-size by separating it from the stock." 

The light beam from the ray gun operated "on a transistorized target at distances over 30 feet," and kids could also "change the target to make it harder and harder to hit."

Designed for ages 6 and up, this Tomy toy required four "AA" batteries to operate. I remember this toy so well -- and have one in my home office -- because my best friend and next door neighbor owned Shoot Out in Space, and often invited me up to his third-floor playroom to shoot down the enemy rockets…


No comments:

Post a Comment

Enter The House Between picks up Hermes Creative Award (Platinum!) for 2024

Enter The House Between, our audio drama that finished airing its first season in October of 2023, picked up its second award yesterday!  T...