Back in the day, Pez Co. put out some great looking Gun dispensers. Problem was, they presented a choking hazard. So, when they came out with their first in the 1950's, they discontinued them. Then they came out with another in the 1970's. That, too, presented a choking issue. Goodbye 1970's Gun. Then they came out with another in the 1980's. That got discontinued because, ummm, it was a choking hazard. Let's take a look at them.
Talk about a cool looking gun! By taking off the front and rear cap, one can take the whole gun apart. That way you could change up the rubber band if it should ever break.
These are pretty realistic looking! Well, at least the brown and black ones are. The magazine on this model slides out of the bottom of the handle. This will have the 2.6 and the DBP 818.829 patents.
Now we go back to the Space Gun look. These came in red and silver. Again, the magazine slides out below the handle. Interesting to note, this gun has a patent number not found on any dispenser, #3.370.746.
Rob, you said they only came in red and silver? Yeah, but this is not a Pez Gun. This is a DSH Gun. The black oval on the top part of the handle reads DSH instead of PEZ. Not sure what that stands for. This is a knock-off gun and was sold as a toy to shoot small plastic pellets. The pellets are roughly the same size and shape as Pez candy. It's possible the Pez Co. sold the mold when they discontinued their 1980's Gun. They can also be found in black, and carded. The cards have some of the greatest graphics, too.
Shown is a 2.6 Austria and a DBP. Many of the Batman with Capes will be DBP. The cape will be very pliable. There were some repros made years ago. You can tell a repro by the feel. It is very rigid plastic. These repros can be found in black, also. And, believe it or not, there truly is a legit black Batman with Cape. From what I hear, it's one of a kind!
Starting from the left we have Dark Knights, dusty blue Small Ears, and black Small Ears. Here's a look at some of their cool Variations.
The blue headed dude can be either the Original or Remake. The black guy will always be the Remake. How do I tell if it's a Remake or Original?
The one on the left is the Original. His copyright will read Sign Nat'l Periodical Pub's Inc. The Remake, on the right, reads DC Comics Inc 1985. At least I think it's 1985. My eyes are so bad.
Some dispensers have what collectors call a Dual IMC. This is the injection molding code with two digits, like the 4/1 above. A mold for a dispenser has eight cavities. Each of the cavities is numbered 1 through 8. The dispenser above popped out of cavity number one. Now you know that out there somewhere there is one from each cavity. That's the goal. Find one of each, 4/1, 4/2, etc... These Dual IMC Batman dispensers will always be the Originals, and they'll be on 3.4 stems. I just finished collecting all the Batman ones so now I'm moving onto another 3.4 Dual IMC dispenser. Yes, "fun" is a relative term.
When he first came out in 1996, he had very pointy ears (shown on the right). I guess they felt this was a bit dangerous so he got a more rounded look (shown on the left).
Let's add in the Softheads. The Softhead Batman, along with all the other Softhead Superheroes, came with two different head markings. One will have "DC Comics 1978" and the other will have "Hong Kong DC Comics 1978." They look so serious!
Shown are a Hong Kong, only DC, and an only DC on yellow. And these guys look like they're having a ball!
Sorry about the poor quality of the lime green guys. My camera sure didn't like them much. Shown, from left, is dark green Hulk A, light green Hulk A, Hulk B, and Hulk C (talk about your large heads!).
This is Hulk B on the darker green stem. He also comes on a pink stem. How could they do that to Hulk?
Some dispensers, including Hulk A, will be on some of the first Hong Kong stems. They can even be a 3.4. Some of the first have a metal spring! Shown is the Hong Kong plastic, left, and the metal. These HK metal springs have a different look compared to an Austria metal spring. The uprights are much more narrow on the HK.
Not to be confused with the Softhead, this is Wonder Woman A and Wonder Woman B. The major difference between the two is the star on her head.
Shown are two Spiderman A's (NF and WF), B, and C. And their heads just get bigger every time! The one to look for is the Spiderman A with no webbing on the back of their head. It's a keeper!