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The Ultimate Toy Gun!


siege1863
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I have now added some serious firepower to my toy arsenal! This gem is a "Yankee Raider" and is constructed entirely from wood and cardboard. It measures 30" long by 22" high. I have never seen one of these before and based on the construction, number of components, etc., it was a rather expensive piece and there may not have been many produced and sold. I would love to find a WWII-period advertisement or catalog showing the gun.

 

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I absolutely LOVE these WWII toys. But you better be careful because seeing them is starting to point me in the direction of WWII toy collecting!

 

 

Sigh. Another thing to spend money on...LOL.....

 

That thing is too cool for school.

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Mike,

I Found the ad on ancestry.com - look in the Syracuse Herald Journal, Syracuse, New York, November 1943 - sorry I forgot the exact date, my daughter is tugging at my arm to go outside and play. I will get you the exact date if you can't find it - the guns sold for 2.98 new! It says, "On Christmas Day make their dreams come true."

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This is one of the coolest toys. Found the tripod once, and gave it to a toy collector, thinking he would find one before me. He probably chucked it. Oh well, I cant keep every thing, and I dont try any more. After reaching critical mass, I am starting to liquidate! But I still love the toys. Dave

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Jeff---

 

I searched for and found the ad, but it is not the same gun. Although called the "Yankee Raider" it more closely resembles a gatling gun with a magazine fitted to the top of the receiver. It fires wooden bullets. Mine is merely the ratchet noise-making type. You can also see differences in the location and styling of the name on the side and the construction of the tripod. Thanks for looking!

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Mike,

Just goes to show you should not try to do research when you have a two and a half year old in the room - it is just too hard to concentrate. It seems strange though that there would be two similar toy guns both named "Yankee Raider." Could they both possibly have been made by the same company at different times?

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Jeff---

 

Here is the ad. I think the confusion comes from the fact that they used the wrong name! The gun in the ad is acutally called the "Yank Raider" and was made by the C.L. Spoor Co. of Chicago. It is the one that fired wooden bullets. Although not a clear drawing, it does show the name "Yank Raider" on the side of the "waterjacket." The name on mine is along the side of the receiver.

 

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Now that is a nice little toy! Surprised it doesn't show more use (which is good for collectors though!). Like you mentioned it was costly, so probably the kid and/or parents saved forever and were too afraid to damage it!

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