Shoot Out In Space

This was one of my most prized toys from childhood. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s, it is no surprise that I am a huge Sci Fi nut. I had all kinds of Sci Fi toys. Ray guns. Figures. Read Sci Fi books. Watched Sci Fi shows. Was a nut for it. This particular ray gun, despite not being associated with any particular franchise, was my favorite one. The only other ray gun that came close were the electronic phasers released for ST:TMP. But back to Shoot Out.

 

Want to be a Space Ranger?
Want to be a Space Ranger?

This particular ray gun did it all. The gun itself was essentially a flashlight with a standard incandescent bulb in it. Squeeze the trigger and a beam of light was shot out of the barrel. One of the neat things about this gun, though, was that you could operate it either as a rifle, as shown on the box, or break it down and remove the stock for a heavy duty pistol.

 

Part of the appeal of this particular ray gun is the sterile all white design - very 70s sci fi.
Part of the appeal of this particular ray gun is the sterile all white design - very 70's sci fi.

To fire the beam, you actually had to cock the gun, so this “high tech” space weapon took on a realistic (for an 8 year old) wild west quality. As cool as the gun is, however, the thing about Shoot Out In Space that made it an object of envy in the neighborhood was that it came with a target to shoot at.

 

Shoot us!
Shoot us!

Not just one target though – it came with 5! The target base consists of a target area that you have to shoot with the gun. Basically, the target is a light sensor. You could hit it with any powerful flashlight and trigger it.

On top of the base was a rotating pedestal. On top of the pedestal are five enemy rockets that you have to shoot down, despite the fact you’re not shooting at the rockets, you’re shooting at the base.

Anyway, crank the rotating pedestal all around and then fire at the target. If you score a hit, it rotates the base and fires one of the rockets into the air. Much easier on the neighborhood fauna than a BB Gun ever was. The satisfaction of scoring a hit and firing off a rocket was second only to disabling a Starbird or my brother’s ST:TMP phaser with their infrared tagging beams.

Finding one of these guys in good shape is actually really hard. Springs in the gun are often broken. The stickers on the base, the rockets or the gun are almost always pealing off. And often the mechanism that fires the rocket is broken. Or the catch that keeps the pedestal rotated.

If you can find one of these babies, and are a fan of the 70’s ray gun, I highly recommend it.

10 thoughts on “Shoot Out In Space”

  1. Where can I find one? My over twenty years ago my brother got one from Santa. He only used it once before I broke it. Every holiday season since he reminds me. Are there any around to be purchased?

  2. I have one that I got when I was a kid and now my kids are playing with it. It is over 30 years old. It looks just like it did on that x-mas morning.

  3. Yep I had this game, everybody in my family played with it,

    on top of that I would take the gun outside and have space adventures.

    The problem is, that gun was made of such brittle plastic, that my mom glued it back together about a zillion times.

    It finally got thrown out sometime in the late 80’s….oh well.

  4. Hey Bugeye, I have this game, and it is in mint condition. No lie.. I can’t believe I actually found a website with reference to this game. Very cool. I was compulsive even as a kid and kept everything immaculate. Har. Any idea what the value is on this game? Shoot out in space Ray Gun on Ebay, $8, playing Shootout in Space as a 35 year old adult, priceless.

    1. Hi Brian,

      that’s awesome! this is a super cool toy. The value on this one is all over the place. I have seen it sell for as little as $15, mint in box, and go for as much as $500 in a beat up box. It is a buyer specific item, meaning there aren’t a lot of people that want it, but for the people that do, they’ll pay top dollar if you can find them. That said, average I’ve seen is under $40. Take a look at the listing that recently closed above,

      Now, the following statement may call into question the veracity of the above. I’d like to buy it. 🙂 If the $30 range plus shipping without dealing with ebay sounds ok to you, lmk!

  5. This was a great game, ended up using gun just as toy gun, still have box , looking for the the complete set, also there was a similar cowboy game with six shooter (with light ) and cowboy would fall when hit, suffered same fate but still have the plastic gun.

  6. Hi Bugeyed, still have this item- SAhoot out in Space.I bought it for my son Ibelieve in the early “80’s or late ’70’s. I liked it so much that I decided not togive it to him for fear that he would break it. My intention was to keep it and one day it would become a collectible. Well, I did let my son play with it and he broke the long barrel. I recently brought it up from my basement and I discovered that it still works! I do have the original box and I’m missing one of the five plastic rockets that fit neatly onthe carousel.

    If anyone is interested, I also stillhave the famed EAGLE 1 from the sci-fi tv show Space 1999, which as you are aware featured some cool cars, some made up to like futuristic like the OldsmobileTaronado and the Jensen Intercepter. The red plastice engine that fit on the back of the spaceship is long gone. I never thought I would see pictures of these old toys again. Thanks to the internet, my memories are reliving themselves, thanks.

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Classic toys and ephemera from the 70s