1953 Hubley Atomic Disintegrator cap gun

This substantial - and heavy - metal toy gun produced by Hubley Manufacturing Company in 1953 combined the theme of atomic power with the excitement of a cap gun. Fictional space heroes often carried space-themed versions of the Western's ever-present six-shooter or rifle. As a result, for several generations, pretend gun play with ray gun toys formed a central part of many children's imagined space adventures. In the late 1940s, "atomic" guns proliferated. "Laser" guns followed the creation of the practical laser in 1960.