SUPER GUN - 8428
4 CHANGEABLE
Wait! Who is that??
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| SUPER GUN - 4 Changeable (click to enlarge) |
With perhaps the biggest switch-a-roo in the Astro Magnum saga comes... SUPER GUN!
For the longest time SUPER GUN has been a mysteriously illusive character, one that justifiably had many fooled because of the box photography. Collectors have been limited to only a few online pictures of the SUPER GUN box for many years. Regrettably no one seemed to have pictures of the actual figure. Unfortunately we were thus left to believe SUPER GUN was the figure depicted on the box itself.
Behold, the wrong photography!
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| True to knockoff form, the SUPER GUN box says, "Be composed to 4 marellous toys with electronic sound" what? |
What a fun case of the knockoff manufacture pulling a bait and switch on their buyers.
The upside is, the real SUPER GUN is spectacularly awesome and better in many ways!!
When we acquired our first boxed example, we wondered if the figure that came with it was a mistake, perhaps placed in the wrong box as it had switched hands over the decades. We were hopeful, but couldn't be sure, especially with only one example. We then stumbled upon pictures of another opened boxed example from Italy (see end of this post). To our amazement and joy, there it was, the same figure once again! Had we solved the mystery? We still didn't know for sure since the box photography was still completely different. Later we luckily acquired a 2nd and then a 3rd boxed example, all with the same results.
So, after four separate examples, we are 100% certain, the mystery of SUPER GUN has been solved now - yahoo!
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| SUPER GUN box front, side and back. Together they create a wraparound collage. Side of the box takes you through changes 1-4. What is happening in 'Change No.3'? |
So, who is the real SUPER GUN then?
SUPER GUN is the only known figure to have a "MADE IN TAIWAN" leg stamp.
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| "MADE IN TAIWAN" |
Three of the four boxed examples of SUPER GUN have come from Italy. They were distributed by Fantasyland S.a.s of Milano, Italy. Unlike most other distributors, Fantasyland appears to be alive and active today. Their website is: www.fantasyland.it The fourth boxed example was located in Canada.
Having looked over thousands of classified ads, it is clear that the child safety compliance stickers (seen above) are mistaken as manufacturing dates. You can see the 18/2/83 date on the Fantasyland sticker. Many have believed the figures were therefore made in 1983, this is not accurate. The translation lets us know that the product simply complies with a child safety law from the year 1983, nothing more.
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| SUPER GUN box top artwork |
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| Photo courtesy of: DimaVintage School (Italy) |
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| Notice again the yellow lettering just above the gun handle. |
SUPER GUN is actually S-U-P-E-R! We are confident that the more we study the origins of the Astro Magnum/KO figures, the more SUPER GUN will be a critical link in that understanding.
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