Ray Gun Collecting in Europe - The Adventures of Hans Hobert

With “Ray Gun Collector” boldly emblazoned across his business card and the image of a large ray gun, it’s quickly evident that Hans Hobert takes his ray gun collecting seriously! A graphic designer living in Antwerp, Belgium, Hobert is the proud owner of a large and diverse collection of toy space guns.

Hobert discovered toy ray guns in 1994 after receiving Leslie Singer's book Zap as a present. It was love at first sight. "I immediately fell in love with these wonderful toys," says Hobert. "I loved the shapes, forms, box art, and the diversity." He was soon searching the countryside looking for toys and buying everything he could lay his hands on. "I went to every old toy store or general store in the area I lived in," he recalls, "and I bought every kind of ray gun I could find. Most were from Hong Kong, but in some old shops I did find nice French and English ray guns."

Soon Hobert discovered Toy Shop magazine, and with it the American market for toy ray guns. Through Toy Shop he made his first purchases in the United States, and soon he was in touch with American toy dealers. "Seriously hooked" on collecting, he began making the rounds of European toy shows, something he continues to do to this day.

Unlike many collectors of toy ray guns whose hobby grew from their fond memories of playing with these toys as children, Hobert never saw a ray gun until reading Zap. "I am what they call a new generation of ray gun collector. I am not a baby boomer, and I do not collect out of wanting to relive my childhood years or to buy the things I wanted as a child. I collect toy ray guns simply because I love the things. Not for the money, nor the memories. Simply for the love of their forms."

According to Hobert, toy ray guns are much harder to find in Europe than in the United States as far fewer space guns were made in Europe and few guns were imported there from Japan. The recent American surge of interest in these toys has encouraged European dealers to ship the majority of their ray guns directly to the larger, and more lucrative American market.

"One might think that it's easier to find European ray guns over here," says Hans. "Well, let me tell you that it's not true. English ray guns are hardly seen outside of England. They are either bought by English collectors or sold straight to dealers in the United States. The same goes for Spanish and Italian guns. And the few German and French ray guns made are very hard to come by as well. American made ray guns are impossible to find here."

However, this hasn't stopped Hobert from amassing a remarkable collection. "You get really hooked by the search and then the grand prize - the find!" he says. Among Hobert’s favorite discoveries is a high grade boxed example of the French "Voyageur Interplanetaire," a rare and wonderful die-cast flashlight gun that comes with a lightning bolt holster and target set. Hobert also discovered an unusual Canadian ray gun, a rare plastic toy made by Reliable Company in 1948, the earliest Canadian toy ray gun to come onto the market. Among Hobert’s other favorites are a beautifully sculpted French spinner gun called "Le Sideral" (which Hobert has two versions of) and the graphic box for the Spanish gun known as “La Pistol Atomica: Bandido Del Espacio.”

In recent months Hobert has become an active bidder on eBay, and has been able to acquire many American ray guns previously unavailable to him. Now his collection is quickly becoming remarkable not only for its European examples, but for its American ones as well.