2011 AWARD WINNING TOYS

There were no ray guns before Buck Rogers. There was no reason for any. For although tales of science fiction were not new in the late 1920s when the first Buck comic strip was published, space stories had not yet produced a popular character whose exploits and equipment could be widely or profitably marketed.

Anthony "Buck" Rogers was born in August of 1926 in an early edition of the pulp magazine, Amazing Stories. Introduced in the story "Armageddon 2419" by Philip Nowlan, Rogers was an air force officer who lapsed into a coma and awakened in the 25th century where he found America in ruins and the world dominated by Mongolians from inland China. Quickly discovering the marvels of this future world, including anti-gravity belts, rocket pistols, and space ships, Rogers and his cohorts, the lovely Wilma Deering and the intrepid scientist Dr. Huer, set out to fee the world and battle evil and injustice.

The second gun from the left is the famous XZ-31 Rocket Pistol. First introduced by Daisy in 1934, these guns were the beneficiaries of one of the most successful merchandising and sales campaigns in the history of the American toy business. Daisy began this remarkable campaign by convincing Nowlan and Calkins to redesign the hand guns, helmets, and holsters portrayed in Buck's comic adventures so that they could be exactly duplicated by Daisy. Then in February of 1934, after the Buck Rogers comic strip and radio show had developed a significant following and a strong market potential for Buck Rogers' toys, Daisy introduced their first Buck Rogers gun, the XZ-31 Rocket Pistol. Before the introduction of the XZ-31, Daisy had already convinced the J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit to make "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" their Christmas theme, and to install a large rocket ship and set of Martian figures in their toy department. Daisy then used these same props when it finally introduced its Buck Rogers gun at the prestigious American Toy Fair.

The gun on the extreme right seems to be a copy of the Sonic Ray Flashlite gun made by Norton Honer. First marketed in the mid 1950s, the Sonic Ray was very popular and it served as a model for many subsequent flashlight guns made by other companies.

The Russkiy Toy (Russian Toy) is a very small breed of dog originally bred in Russia from the English Toy Terrier.

In the late 1950s a variation of the English Toy Terrier was popular in Russia, called the Moscow Longhaired Toy Terrier. This type of dog became the Russkiy Toy, which now is bred with both long and short hair. It was provisionally recognised by the Federation Cynologique Internationale in 2006 as breed number 352, in the Companion and Toy Dogs Group.
The only other major kennel club in the English-speaking world to recognise the Russian Terrier is the United Kennel Club in the US.

The Russkiy Toy is small (weighing up to 3kg/) and square, with erect ears set high on the head. It is an active dog but should not be shy or aggressive. The tail is docked where docking is still legal. Coat colour is black, brown, or blue with tan, or red with no brown.
Wikipedia.