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Cap guns, toy pistols and
rifles have always been a favorite toy for kids. We'll have a lot of cap guns,
rifles and toy pistols on this site. We will also list other brands of toy cap
guns and antique toy cap pistols under our Scrapbook section.
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At the end of World War II
Talley and Lewis Nichols decided that they were going into manufacturing and
had to come up with something to make. Uncle Talley told me that he was never
interested in manufacturing real guns, but toy guns definitely caught his
interest. So they made toys.
A friend had suggested a copy of the Colt Peacemaker
(he called it "The Thumb Buster"), and the early Nichols guns were all
basically variations of the Colt 45. In 1946 they came out with the Silver
Pony, then the Mustang (very early changed to Silver Mustang) and then the
Silver Colt. These early toy cap pistols led to the famous Stallion series of
cap guns.
A STRONG NOTE!:
Be sure to go to the
Stallions
Section (Click Here) to see all of the next basic series of Nichols
Cap Guns.
And don't forget the Other Famous Brands of Cap Guns on the
CAP GUNS MENU! |
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Nichols Industries
Early Cap
Guns
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Here is a nice holster set
with Nichols Pasadena Silver Colts! I just love the early days in Nichols
Industries—not because the first three Cap Gun were really anything to
brag about, but because I WAS THERE! I easily remember those days and know all
about the company from those years. I remember when the Quonset Hut was built
to handle the increasing sales. It's gone now, and Richey Street runs through
where it used to be, but the original "block house" is still
there—unoccupied. Fond memories. Ed said that the guns didn't originally
come with this holster set. |
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Service Policy
Back in the early years, when Nichols Industries was in Pasadena,
you could return your cap pistol to the factory and get it repaired. The
quality of the guns was high, so there weren't actually many returned. My dad
was in charge of most of the repairs, and one time a youngster in Perth,
Australia wrote him a letter asking what it would cost for shipping, as he had
a small pistol to fix, but couldn't afford a Stallion 45. Now my dad had been
on a troop transport to the Middle East in World War II, and they stopped in
Perth, Australia. They had gone ashore for some reason and were marching and
were FAMISHED! Suddenly, as they marched past a farmhouse, a lady came out with
a couple of bushels of apples and said, "Hey boys, do you want some apples?"
Boy did they! My dad remembered this and in gratitude, mailed a brand new
Stallion 45 to this young man with his compliments. Thank you Perth, Australia.
I first heard this story when John Glenn was orbiting the world and needed a
navigation fix and Perth, Australia turned on its lights at night and John
Glenn noticed it.
.......Thanks again Perth! —MN
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Photo donation by
Jamie
Linford
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These early guns gave them a lot of experience
and sales were brisk. Then they made the bold leap in 1950, and decided to come
out with the famous Stallion 45 and the company then became world
famous.
This section will deal with the earliest years and the first 3
guns in the Nichols series. |
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