Back when we were kids, we used to make a game of catching cockroaches with rubber guns. We’d harvest the “loot” (which consisted of, well, cockroaches) and feed them to our arowanas, in place of small fish. We were hunter-gatherers, always in search of more sustenance for our favorite Jurassic-age, carnivorous pets, with rubber guns our primary weapons of choice.
The memory of those days came coming back in torrential fashion as soon as I caught sight of Andy Mangold’s Rubber Bandit, a rubber band shooter that would have been the envy of neighborhood kids back in those times. Just like our humble toys, it uses simple mechanical means to shoot elastic projectiles into whatever target catches your fancy.
Shaped like a pistol, the Rubber Bandit is a stylish piece of childhood weaponry, handcrafted out of bloodwood and curly maple. It works just as you would expect – by stretching a rubber band from the end of the barrel to the back, then firing by pulling on the trigger. You can vary the strength of each shot by using one of three replaceable barrels.
Unfortunately, this particular model is strictly for Andy’s collection and isn’t for sale. However, he is open to custom-making any rubber band firearms that customers want to get. Price will vary depending on the type of wood used as well as the complexity of the weapon that you want. The Gentleman’s Rubber Bandit, as seen in this pic, though, costs roughly between $40 and $50 to make. Not bad for a sexy cockroach killer, if you ask me.
[Andy Mangold via Cnet]