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Does anyone know why they quit distributing the shooting (spring action)
cannons in the US? They were really pretty slick, and had a great range.
Those little babies would shoot 4 feet easy. I lucked out and have about
eight. But i have close to 10 that either are the kind you have to thump to
shoot, or the ones that just DO NOT shoot.
Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
Jeff
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In lugnet.pirates, Jeff Barnett writes:
> Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
In the late 70's, there was a paranoia against any toy that fired projectiles
in the US, which came fom incidents revolving around the Battlestar Galactica
Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider toys, which shot little missles that got lodged
in kids' throats. I'm not sure if the kids actually died or not, but they did
manage to keep a lot of us from having much fun (or at least AS much fun).
eric
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Ah, that explains why, after collecting all five lions to make my Voltron, I
saw a foreign import version which had little missile launchers that popped
out all over, but mine didn't. (They were virtually the same toy besides
that...my Blue Lion even had a part that popped up, but didn't shoot anything.)
Aaron
-Wish I still had that bloody thing...die cast metal toys are cool!
In lugnet.pirates, Eric Joslin writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, Jeff Barnett writes:
>
> > Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
>
> In the late 70's, there was a paranoia against any toy that fired projectiles
> in the US, which came fom incidents revolving around the Battlestar Galactica
> Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider toys, which shot little missles that got • lodged
> in kids' throats. I'm not sure if the kids actually died or not, but they did
> manage to keep a lot of us from having much fun (or at least AS much fun).
>
> eric
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In lugnet.pirates, Aaron Hines writes:
> Ah, that explains why, after collecting all five lions to make my Voltron, I
> saw a foreign import version which had little missile launchers that popped
> out all over, but mine didn't. (They were virtually the same toy besides
> that...my Blue Lion even had a part that popped up, but didn't shoot
anything.)
Ah! I have GoLion, which was the GoDiakin robot by Bandai that the Lion
Voltron was based on. That SOB shot missiles all over the place. It was, in
fact, the toy that caused the scales to fall away from my eyes and realise that
there was a better way.
Besides the shooting stuff, it was made with heavier (and more) diecast parts
than the American versions of the toy.
eric
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In lugnet.pirates, Aaron Hines writes:
> Ah, that explains why, after collecting all five lions to make my Voltron, I
> saw a foreign import version which had little missile launchers that popped
> out all over, but mine didn't. (They were virtually the same toy besides
> that...my Blue Lion even had a part that popped up, but didn't shoot • anything.)
>
> Aaron
>
> -Wish I still had that bloody thing...die cast metal toys are cool!
Hello Aaron,
I do still have it, in the original box too! I love it, I always thaought it
was the best. Mine is the imported Japanesse, complete with firing objects,
set. It was a Xmas of yesteryear present. And I didn't swallow any of them.
Does being an Aaron, liking LEGO, and owning a Voltron put me anywhere on the
Cosmic Plane near to you?
Bearers of the name Aaron, UNITE!
Sleepily, Aaron
Email>maniac@vol.com
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In lugnet.pirates, Aaron West writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, Aaron Hines writes:
> Bearers of the name Aaron, UNITE!
Hehe... if you wanna join the name war, check out the .castle "Jeffs, Eri[ck]s
and [KC]arl wars... ;-)
> Sleepily, Aaron
Good night!
-Shiri
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In lugnet.pirates, Shiri Dori writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, Aaron West writes:
> > In lugnet.pirates, Aaron Hines writes:
> > Bearers of the name Aaron, UNITE!
>
> Hehe... if you wanna join the name war, check out the .castle "Jeffs, Eri[ck]s
> and [KC]arl wars... ;-)
>
> > Sleepily, Aaron
>
> Good night!
>
> -Shiri
I'm aware of them there name wars, I though that I would have few alies. At
least I found one (?), but Aarons are generally not warlike unless they have a
brother Moses (which I don't). Noting the historic background of the name
"Aaron", would it not be too cool if Lego made a Middle Eastern Theme, sort of
like a Ottoman Empire? Curved scimitars, short horn bows, turbins, Islamic
towers and castles!!! Oh, then I could have LEGO Holy Wars!!! I am so
drooling!!
Still Hoping for Aarons to UNITE!!!
Aaron
maniac@vol.com
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In lugnet.pirates, Eric Joslin writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, Jeff Barnett writes:
>
> > Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
>
> In the late 70's, there was a paranoia against any toy that fired projectiles
> in the US, which came fom incidents revolving around the Battlestar Galactica
> Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider toys, which shot little missles that got lodged
> in kids' throats. I'm not sure if the kids actually died or not, but they did
> manage to keep a lot of us from having much fun (or at least AS much fun).
I remember that era well....I also remember Kenner advertising a limited
addition Boba Fett w/ firing missile pack that you had to send away for...I
also remember being bummed when I received it w/ no weapon and a missile
glued in place...
Which reminds me...I bought some misc. pieces off a KABOB who was selling
his and an older brothers collection....half of the cannons have a black
stem at the rear of the barrel, but they don't appear to work...
I was in college and short of bucks when Pirates came out, so most of my
cannons were acquired from polybags and a saber island set. The cannons
that I bought years ago are all the mononchromatic Dark gray kind.
Are these non-firing black stem/plunger cannons a hybrid or retrofit safety
measure..you know, originally they fired but they converted them...Are these
like an AR-15, ie. you can file down something and they fire as intended?
I would love to know....these don't fit in w/ my other cannons at all, but I
doubt their trade/sale value....I would keep them if I cold make them fire = )
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In lugnet.pirates, John Robert Blaze Kanehl writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, Eric Joslin writes:
> > In lugnet.pirates, Jeff Barnett writes:
> >
> > > Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
> >
> > In the late 70's, there was a paranoia against any toy that fired projectiles
> > in the US, which came fom incidents revolving around the Battlestar Galactica
> > Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider toys, which shot little missles that got lodged
> > in kids' throats. I'm not sure if the kids actually died or not, but they did
> > manage to keep a lot of us from having much fun (or at least AS much fun).
>
> I remember that era well....I also remember Kenner advertising a limited
> addition Boba Fett w/ firing missile pack that you had to send away for...I
> also remember being bummed when I received it w/ no weapon and a missile
> glued in place...
>
> Which reminds me...I bought some misc. pieces off a KABOB who was selling
> his and an older brothers collection....half of the cannons have a black
> stem at the rear of the barrel, but they don't appear to work...
>
> I was in college and short of bucks when Pirates came out, so most of my
> cannons were acquired from polybags and a saber island set. The cannons
> that I bought years ago are all the mononchromatic Dark gray kind.
>
> Are these non-firing black stem/plunger cannons a hybrid or retrofit safety
> measure..you know, originally they fired but they converted them...Are these
> like an AR-15, ie. you can file down something and they fire as intended?
>
> I would love to know....these don't fit in w/ my other cannons at all, but I
> doubt their trade/sale value....I would keep them if I cold make them fire = )
Yes, you can take these cannons apart. there are two small holes on each
side of the rear of the cannon that you can
push a paper clip into to release the clips. dont use a lot of pressure as
you might damage the clips inside. I got a black shafted cannon via an ebay
auction and when I took it apartI found a white plastic collar where the
spring would have gone. Last night I took a spring from a ball point pin and
reshaped it to fit around the shaft. I did cut it so be careful of the
sharp ends. It now shoots as well as the "real" shooting cannons I got in a
service
pack set via ebay : )
have fun!
John
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I asked a similar question regarding the black plungered cannons awhile
ago... I knew someone had described the process.
Eureka...I found it = )
Thanks to John Morgan for sharing his experience!
John Kanehl
In lugnet.pirates, John Morgan writes:
> In lugnet.pirates, John Robert Blaze Kanehl writes:
> > In lugnet.pirates, Eric Joslin writes:
> > > In lugnet.pirates, Jeff Barnett writes:
> > >
> > > > Does anyone know why they stopped making shooting cannons??
> > >
> > > In the late 70's, there was a paranoia against any toy that fired projectiles
> > > in the US, which came fom incidents revolving around the Battlestar Galactica
> > > Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider toys, which shot little missles that got lodged
> > > in kids' throats. I'm not sure if the kids actually died or not, but they did
> > > manage to keep a lot of us from having much fun (or at least AS much fun).
> >
> > I remember that era well....I also remember Kenner advertising a limited
> > addition Boba Fett w/ firing missile pack that you had to send away for...I
> > also remember being bummed when I received it w/ no weapon and a missile
> > glued in place...
> >
> > Which reminds me...I bought some misc. pieces off a KABOB who was selling
> > his and an older brothers collection....half of the cannons have a black
> > stem at the rear of the barrel, but they don't appear to work...
> >
> > I was in college and short of bucks when Pirates came out, so most of my
> > cannons were acquired from polybags and a saber island set. The cannons
> > that I bought years ago are all the mononchromatic Dark gray kind.
> >
> > Are these non-firing black stem/plunger cannons a hybrid or retrofit safety
> > measure..you know, originally they fired but they converted them...Are these
> > like an AR-15, ie. you can file down something and they fire as intended?
> >
> > I would love to know....these don't fit in w/ my other cannons at all, but I
> > doubt their trade/sale value....I would keep them if I cold make them fire = )
>
> Yes, you can take these cannons apart. there are two small holes on each
> side of the rear of the cannon that you can
> push a paper clip into to release the clips. dont use a lot of pressure as
> you might damage the clips inside. I got a black shafted cannon via an ebay
> auction and when I took it apartI found a white plastic collar where the
> spring would have gone. Last night I took a spring from a ball point pin and
> reshaped it to fit around the shaft. I did cut it so be careful of the
> sharp ends. It now shoots as well as the "real" shooting cannons I got in a
> service
> pack set via ebay : )
>
> have fun!
>
> John
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