Vernon in Virginia~Formerly Alaska
New member
In 1956, I was eight years old. TV was relatively new. Comedies and westerns were the big hits; comedies for the big folks, westerns for the buccaroos. These were the days of Howdy Doody, Hop-a-long Cassidy, the Mickey Mouse Club, Roy Rogers, and the Lone Ranger. That was also the year that the Mattel toy company came out with the "Fanner 50" western cap gun rig. OH MAN! I had to have a Fanner 50! It was the coolest, most realistic gun rig on the market, with a real leather holster and a string of bullets on the belt that you could load up on Friday, and shoot till Sunday night. It came with a leg tie down, and it was called a Fanner because of the high ride hammer you could fan with the palm of your hand, and blow Poncho Villa's entire army away, just like Clint Eastwood. None of this cheap junk like they make today. I forget how much the Fanner 50 was in those days, couldn't have been much, probably a few dollars.
[attachment 22145 1957.jpg]
On Christmas morning, I opened the box that held the long-awaited Fanner 50. Man, I was in heaven. I was a cowboy at heart anyway, and this just lit the candles on my cake! I used to dress up like a cowboy all the time, as you can see from this school photograph of me in 1957 (I think I was doing my third year in the second grade, or something like that). Notice the to-die-for cowboy shirt; I think it had matching pants, with fringes down the sides of the leg... yeah, I know how stupid it looks now, but you couldn't tell me that then.
[attachment 22147 Fanner50A.jpg]
Anyway, ran across this photograph of a Mattel Fanner 50, which brought back the memories; thought I'd post it, since things are a little slow on the forum. These toy gun rigs today are selling for around $275 in average condition.
V
[attachment 22145 1957.jpg]
On Christmas morning, I opened the box that held the long-awaited Fanner 50. Man, I was in heaven. I was a cowboy at heart anyway, and this just lit the candles on my cake! I used to dress up like a cowboy all the time, as you can see from this school photograph of me in 1957 (I think I was doing my third year in the second grade, or something like that). Notice the to-die-for cowboy shirt; I think it had matching pants, with fringes down the sides of the leg... yeah, I know how stupid it looks now, but you couldn't tell me that then.
[attachment 22147 Fanner50A.jpg]
Anyway, ran across this photograph of a Mattel Fanner 50, which brought back the memories; thought I'd post it, since things are a little slow on the forum. These toy gun rigs today are selling for around $275 in average condition.
V
it's a shame what they've done to westerns as of late.
