Memorializing an ICON - The 1966 Hamilton Invaders pistol

Harada357

Harada357

Sr Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
I was born in 1963. Toy lines from REMCO were coming in full tilt. I was too small to ever lay my hands on one, I searched for fifty years to find one for my collection. First they were discontinued, scarce, often broken or incomplete. I finally was able to obtain four pistols - all with missing broken parts. I salvaged and combined them to complete one gun, cleaned that up, and used it as a master to drop into a silicon to mold. The real toy was plastic, weathered, brittle, and not suitable for re-purposing as a base prop for 1960 type guns. I decided the only way to get an active usable supply of pistols for some 1960's props was to cast it is solid resin. The original pistol is out of production for forty years. We need to try to save that pistol in history.

MEMORIALIZING the Hamilton Pistol Project was born.

7124066_1_l.jpg UPDATED FILE AND PHOTOS: 10/23/2014: AA7.jpg


See what do you think?

UPDATE: Here is the first project using the Hamilton Invaders BASE Pistol - " Slightly Modified"

Pic 5 Color and Design.jpg

HERE is an updated link to the Build thread:

GO HERE: http://www.therpf.com/f9/bazinkatro...0s-blaster-laser-ray-pistol-gun-build-226526/
 
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1.jpg

I had to purchase four broken and worn gun just to get enough original parts to complete at least one pistol.

Once a pistol was complete - Mold - pour - cross your fingers!

2.jpg
 
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3.jpg

PERFECTION ! 1:1 Scale

4.jpg

Details Memorialized

The toys were 48yrs old !! They shatter like glass. Pulling the trigger could make them explode into fragments in your hand. Now recast in solid resin in high strength resin in 2014 - there can be a whole new generation of props. Anything retro SCI FI - Steampunk alterations - 1960's Sci Fi - all possible now. I was born in 1963 - I saw the ADs on TV where all the kids were having fun with the Hamilton Invaders toys - the Monsters - the soldiers - the Helmet - and the Iconic pistol. My Mom was appalled by the "scary gross" monsters out of the minds of REMCO - and certainly was not putting a "grenade pistol" in the hands of her four year old. I was out of luck! Some parents thought the monsters looked like "the Devil" and would not let the "Devils playthings" into their home. It looked like i might EVER see the Hamilton Invaders pistol in my hand. There was no internet. No way to save pictures or information. I tore out the page from the Christmas Issue of the SEARS Catalog AD for the Hamilton Invaders SAVED IT and hide it in my room. 48yrs later - Sorry Mom - : )

The controversial Toys by REMCO have remained a cherished collectable for almost half a century! Now that is innovative design.

- - - Updated - - -

LOST IN SPACE CONVERSION !!!

5.jpg

NOW we are ready to make some 1960's prop replicas.
 
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The nose cone/flash hider has proven very weak and would shatter or chip if not handled with EXTREME care. I have decided to add an inner thickness to the resin walls and strengthen the construction. It needs to be sturdy enough to stand up to being put into a holster and handled.

250px-HamiltonInvadersLogo.jpg
The Hamilton Invaders LOGO Originally attached to the right side of the pistol.

7cc26676edcaaa9dcf66cf2e8823a38c275a0146_r.jpg
1966 Vintage AD for the REMCO Hamilton Invaders toys
 
SpaceCrawler said:
Cool! I am assuming the first image of the boxed item is something you found online? I'd sure like a repro box for mine.

Sean
Click to expand...

Yes - the first Image is from a toy web site or Ebay - of a Hamilton Pistol in the original box. I could never obtain one - or afford it. An original pistol in the box sells from like $ 450 - $ 800. depending on the condition - the demand - the seller. It would make no sense to buy a Hamilton Pistol in the original box - then cut it up for a prop project - yet you need an authentic pistol for the project. There will only be a finite number of ORIGINAL Hamilton Pistol toys. I was looking for the parts for prop projects and maintaining a resin copy for my collection. That pistol has inspired me since i was a child. The casting is a "replica" of the toy pistol. I never found one with the flip gun sight still in tact. I will say the Replica Resin toy pistol is FAR MORE rugged than the original. It has strength and weight to it. It is far better suited for static replica props than the original.
 
Here are some pics of the molds. I am new to casting. With a lot of trial an error I found a way to finally get a good cast. I use Smooth On products. I wanted several base models of the Hamilton pistol for prop projects - but the toy was too fragile. I did not want to be labeled a Re-caster - so none of the toy casts are for sale. I did perfect the process - minor tiny bubbles - I reinforced the flash hider and molded it separately in Onxy Black - Two piece kit - looks cool even with no paint.

Here are some pics. I thought there would be more interest in the thread. Not really I guess.

SEE ATTACHED: Mold 1 D IMG_0554.jpgMold 1 c IMG_0553.jpgMold 1 B IMG_0552.jpgMold 1 A IMG_0551.jpg

Comments? Anyone? Thanks.
 
James Kenobi 1138 said:
Project looks fantastic. I don't know this toy (born in 74) but it's a great design and your resin copy looks perfect.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response!

This SCI FI Toy was the inspiration for the 1960's generation. It was hugely popular - a vintage collectable - and used by the FX Crew on LOST IN SPACE TV series to create one of the coolest "Ray Guns" in Science Fiction of the 1960's - 1970's - the Season 1 Lost in Space Pistol. The toy line was featured in the SEARS Christmas catalog. The SEARS Christmas catalog was where you could see all the coolest toys and MOM could use the catalog to order the BEST SCI FI Christmas kids toys. The design is cool even today. It was unique and revolutionary in design. A realistic looking pistol that had a futuristic design and was scaled 1:1 for an adult hand. Not many toys fit that criteria at the time. It came out in a time when we expected "flying buck rogers belts" and "living" on the moon by 1990. An ICONIC toy for the Baby Boomer Generation.

I did not want the design to pass into the abyss just yet. Carrying it forward to 2014 and beyond. I have several prop projects in mind for the pistol modifications. I will be posting the outcome. Stay tuned. : )
 
You would not be called a recaster for making this available. You wouldn't be a REcaster, as you'd be the original caster of the found item! Such a project is well within community guidelines.
 
Treadwell said:
You would not be called a recaster for making this available. You wouldn't be a REcaster, as you'd be the original caster of the found item! Such a project is well within community guidelines.
Click to expand...

THANKS !! I never want to cross that LINE - IF i finish out with any extras - might throw one in the JUNKYARD thread. The cost for buying the four pistols ( 48 year old collectables ! darn expensive) - molding - failures - fixing - piecing together - the whole gun - cost me BIG bucks. But I am also using it to build some variants. I thought of the project just for my personal collections - stuck in the 1960's and 70's - but who knows.

Thanks for clarifying that. Casting is still new to me. I mostly buy or scratch build. The one project (a UFO Pistol) I did do got ripped off and recast. So I have not tried anything else.
 
I had all of Hamilton's Invaders monsters, several of the vehicles and the Grenade Pistol. Great toys, it is a shame that you can't find any history of the toy line. For instance, why was it call Hamilton's Invaders? At the time most toy companies were naming their toy lines after the company. Was it named after the inventor?

The Hamilton's Inavders version of the REMCO Grenade Pistol was used, unaltered as the Tracker;s LASER pistols in the movie "Cyborg 2067". Also in the British movie "The Terrornauts".

Remember that the LIS version had it's muzzle replaced with a transparent red plastic muzzle with a light in it.

I have an old HI pistol, but although incomplete, it isn't in as fragile condition as yours. When you consider that these are toys, and were only expected to last a few years at best, it is amazing that so many toys have survived this long.

This was also a wildly pirated design. As a kid I had a water pistol copy, not from REMCO, and I have seen photos of at least three different copies of this design.

David.
 

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