Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future...

If the USA had Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, then this was their UK doppelganger. Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created in 1950 by illustrator Frank Hampson. Learn more here.

Dan Dare, Kentoys, Hong Kong, 1950's

It's a saucer - no , it's a gun - a saucer - nope, a gun...

These Spanish and their platillos volantes !

Yes, at the squeeze of the trigger these 2 frontal discs will fly !

You get red, blue and tan spacemen in the cockpit...

... and you get a pair of goggles to look like Elton John !

And you even get some reading on astronomy !

 Great artwork ! The helmet on the astronauts is once more a reminiscence of Dan Dare's outfit.

Really a superb toy that represents the epitome of Spanish toy design. (thank you, B. !)

Master Flying Gun, Jecsan, Spain, 1954

The Dan Dare gun

Dan Dare Atomic Jet Gun, Crescent Toys, U.K., 1952

The Americans got Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, but their British counterparts quickly got their own Sci-Fi hero. Dan Dare (created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories) appeared on the cover of the first issue of the weekly comic strip magazine, Eagle, on 14 April 1950. Later on the stories were broadcasted in the form of a Radio Luxembourg serial for five years from 2 July 1951.