Back when we were kids, we used to make a game of catching cockroaches with rubber guns. Â We’d harvest the “loot” (which consisted of, well, cockroaches) and feed them to our arowanas, in place of small fish. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â However, he is open to custom-making any rubber band firearms that customers want to get. Â Price will vary depending on the type of wood used as well as the complexity of the weapon that you want. Â The Gentleman’s Rubber Bandit, as seen in this pic, though, costs roughly between $40 and $50 to make. Â Not bad for a sexy cockroach killer, if you ask me.
[Andy Mangold via Cnet]