c.1958 Sankei Kogyo, Tracer Machine Gun In Original Box
Fantastic, tin litho hand cranked Tracer Machine Gun advertised as "shootin' bullets real sound". It features an manual clockwork pass-through ammunition clip with original ammo (still in sealed bag). Complete with original box and paper packing. Manufactured by Sankei Kogyo, Japan. Printed on the box is its prime feature of as a "new automatic cranc[sp] action" gun. Measuring nearly 2 feet long it uses a hand-turned mechanical crank to realistically feed a loaded bullet cartridge through the frame while pumping out realistic plastic bullets. Wow, I wish I had one of these when I was a kid! The toy comes with a metal cartridge strip which has 10, fixed, brass finished bullet cylinders, or holders. Place a two-piece bullet (black rubber bullet + red plastic shell) into each cylinder. Push the loaded strip into frame's pass-through slot. Start turning the rubber handled crank and watch as the cartridge strip moves slowly into the frame. Each time a cartridge lines up with the center of the a barrel a bullet is fired (through the barrel). At the same time it makes a loud "pong-pong-pong" sound. The strip passes all the way through as long as you keep cranking. It ends when the strip passes all the way through and all of the ammo has been "fired". Best of all it works great. That is, the strip passes easily through the slot. I didn't fire any of the shells because I probably would've lost or damaged them. I also didn't want to remove them from the bag. Adding to the realism is the toy's elaborate embossing and lithography. Check out the imitation wood grain stock showing a deployed missile on both sides. The barrel is also ribbed (just above the front grip). The barrel tip is also perforated to allow for "air cooling" just like the real thing. The problem with any toy like this is "what happens when you lose all the ammo"? Da' answer is, "ya don't do nuthin'. It's gone". Thankfully all of the original ammo is still inside the original bag. There is, however a small hole in corner of the bag and one of the black rubber bullets is missing. But the red plastic shell is still there. The remaining nine bullets are complete. It comes with an awesome illustrated color box which shows a prone soldier firing off rounds at advancing enemy jets. I'll bet that the tank, which can just be seen near the bottom edge, has helped a bit. The illustration covers the entire box cover! The seldom seen Sankei logo was printed in the lower right corner. There's nothing lithoed on the gun which identifies the manufacturer. The front and rear aprons include a simple schematic showing the gun's operation. The misspelling of the word "crank" also appears on these panels. The box bottom is cheaply made corrugated cardboard and the original packing paper is still inside. Size: 20½" Date Sold: Aug. 2009
Price Sold: $ 104
