• Miscellaneous toys

Since production began, Mercury tried to make various types of toys always starting from pressure die casting metal alloy. Some were intended for girls, others were split into groups defined as «engineering», «weapons and target shooting» all were intended to flank on the production of model cars.
Later on also aeroplanes and boats were manufactured - you will find them in the various chapters of this book, as well as trains, safes, key holders, miniature soldiers and much more.
Weapons had an expansive development and were, with the guns Pussy 22 and Mini 22, the only group of toys apart from model cars to be presented in the last catalogues issued.
The manufactured models were many and various in shape and size, but they had the common feature of allowing children to shoot different types of bullets.
At the beginning there is a handgun and a spring gun completely made in pressure die-casting metal alloy, able to shoot wooden darts with rubber suction cups. They were sold together with a target, called «Precision». Soon after a hand gun called «Centre» was launched with the same features but a more «military» look, slightly similar to a Luger. A luxury box including parts to assemble a spring rifle called Precision and a different version with compressed air able to shoot corks completed this first weapons’ section of Mercury’s catalogue.
In 1950 an interesting handgun called «Triplex» appeared. It had two different gears to shoot corks, plastic bullets or, as suggested by the manufacturer, potato cylinders as well as water. At the same time Mercury launched a series of more traditional handguns on the market, which just made a noise, or shot paper bullets of a hundred rounds. This series recalled the Wild West and therefore the names given were «Sheriff», «Texas», and “Kansas».
Later on a repeater handgun shooting plastic balls called MD was presented in an unusual box with inscriptions in English and French, even if it was not particularly targeted at foreign markets.
In the years that followed a target called «Lastic» was presented, which was sold with two plastic elastic handguns, which looked like a poor quality toy. They were sold also as a single item. A cute pocket hand gun - single shot - called «Mignon» belonged to this series, but in the second half of the 1960s the best sold was the hand gun called «Pussy 22», whose name comes from Pussy Galore, James Bond’s playmate in the famous film Goldfinger. «Pussy 22» sprang from the desire of Mercury’s commercial management to create a product having outstanding features and a «real look».
It had a magazine to be inserted in the butt and could simulate the kick; it resembled a real handgun like the automatic Walther. To manufacture this prototype, the technical manager was kept in the dark and a real weapon manufacturer; FAVS (Fabbrica Armi Val Susa) was addressed. The prototype, which had cost the considerable figure for the time of 1,700,000. Italian lira (£570), was presented at the Milan toy exhibition and it was an outstanding success, never obtained before in Mercury’s history; the company was flooded with orders. Unfortunately, there was an internal resistance in the manufacturing department and the cheapness of the plastic material used for the butt, made up a final product not in line with the prototype presented. Therefore, it was not possible to exploit at best the commercial success of Pussy 22 also because there were continuous delays in delivery that led to the joke of delivering Christmas orders on December 31! From «Pussy 22» they manufactured «Mini 22», which presented a short barrel and a modified butt, thus becoming a good reproduction of the Walther PPK.
At the beginning of the 1950s, still in the weapon category, the Comp
any manufactured a sturdy wheeled cannon shooting plastic bullets, but this model was already overtaken by the competition of the company Britains based in UK. A machine gun with a driving handle was very brilliant and extremely amusing; it was put on the market at the same time as the cannon. It shot a volley of plastic bullets but also rice grains. Always attentive to putting moderately priced toys on the market, Mercury proposed two fine micro reproductions of handguns and rifles sold in different shades of colours for the pleasure of children. Thanks to a small but strong spring, it shot almost any type of bullet very precisely and also it was a toy that could be easily hidden among pencil holders or schoolbooks! These micro models were packaged in transparent paper as single items.
From the very start Mercury created a series of toys dedicated to girls but they had to discontinue production in the first half of the 1950s.
These girls toys included a whole set of scales and small weights starting from the little «Graziosa» which had a set of four weights to the «Nova» with a set of six small weights in grams, which could actually be used quite reliably; to complete the range with the «Sovrana» equipped with a set of eight weights which could be used in the kitchen. It had plastic plates, which were not so pretty but quite handy. We have included even the «Astra» scale; in fact it was really a household article, which together with a frying slice, diversified production in this specific line. A set of kitchen furniture was quite interesting; it was completely manufactured in pressure die casting metal alloy, they all included different little openings. At present, this toy is hard to find but we can guess that the Company intended to design furniture also for other dollhouse rooms by the fact that the reference numbers following the kitchen furniture were not used for other products. Furthermore, two working kitchen appliances were manufactured: an all-purpose mincer and a press for pasta equipped with three different draw plates so girls could make spaghetti, lasagna and trenette (flat spaghetti).
Mercury also marketed two reproductions in different scales of a sewing machine, but they were sold for a very limited period. Today they are almost impossible to find. Even if they were quite small, by turning the rear gear the needle would really move up and down. The bigger version had a wooden base covered with Mercury stickers.

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