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Mike Nichols
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The primary interesting fact about the Nichols Silver Pony Toy Cap Gun is that it was the very first Nichols Industries cap pistol. Originally they were VERY cheap and mass produced. However, now they are quite hard to find.

They were not fancy at all and had very few moving parts. It was primarily a way for the Nichols bunch to get into the toy market. However, these days a Silver Pony Cap Gun that is in mint condition will command a very large price. A strange fact, considering that at one point there was a whole warehouse full of these and no one to buy them!







A well preserved Silver Pony box. And look at the price! SIXTY NINE CENTS! I doubt if you could buy the box for 69 DOLLARS now. And is there a Silver Pony inside?
Ask Jamie Linford; it's his photo.



Original Silver Pony production began in the fall of 1946 with no plans for sales or distribution. As they began to produce at the Pasadena, Texas facility (close to Houston) trucks would just show up and pay cash for what toy guns they had. Each day there was more production and more trucks. One day no trucks showed up but they kept producing in hopes that the next day TWO trucks would show up. The next day—there was nothing and so on. Finally they spent all their money and had a building full of Silver Ponies with NO SALES! Then they realized Christmas was over. So they had to begin the sales and distribution effort of Nichols Industries during the Spring. The country was starved for toys after WW II, with all production going to the war effort. As these were some of the first toys made in the Houston area after the War, sales allowed for maximum production till after that first Christmas.


The FIRST Nichols Cap Gun!
These are photos of #1 of #1.
The VERY FIRST Silver Pony off the production line
Please Click On Each Thumbnail For An Enlarged View!
These are scans of early advertisements in the Pasadena years.

Many thanks to
J. Harold Utley of the TGCA Newsletter
for these very rare photos






Here's a couple of good photos of (1) the original Silver Pony and (2) the later model. I have a difficult time understanding why Uncle Talley re-vamped the Silver Pony. I mean, come on...it was an older model and not a terrific Cap Gun—apart from its original historical value. But I still need to get one of thse later versions.

And here is another fine photo with the box. Notice that Rich shrink-wraps his boxes to protect them. This box is original and absolutely DEAD MINT.

These photos by Rich Hall


Here is a Cap Gun that appeared in the 1966 catalog, but we're not sure about its sales or its origins. Apparently it was a Kusan introduction when they were still Nichols/Kusan, but it is so rare that there is little information on it. It's called a "COWBOY."

Photos by Richard Strom


This photo contains a photo of the above Cowboy, but also a Cow-Tyke and (apparently) the gun that the Cowboy came from: The Pony, which is similar in name to the original Silver Pony in name, but has a LOT of changes!

Photos by Richard Strom

At the bottom of every page is a Circle "N" Logo and when you click on it, it will take you back to the top of the page.



A Note On Chrome Plating

Early after the War there was a shortage of chrome. This also happened during the Korean war. Some of the early guns they made and shipped were copper-nickel plated which gives a tone that is not the silver look of copper-nickel-chrome. It has more of a very slightly yellow tint but still brilliant. All other guns produced were copper nickel chrome which is what the public almost always sees and later expected.

There were other shortages during the Korean war. Zinc was put on allocation. They went around to junk yards and found old carburetors and melted them down to be able to produce the guns.




A Later Version of the Silver Pony
Here is a later version of the Silver Pony that was made with the plastic grips. I used to think that this was rare, but it is merely a re-vamping of the design in the latter Jacksonville years.
Please Click On Each Thumbnail For An Enlarged View!



I present this photo because it is interesting, not because it is "complete." This right side of the Silver Pony came from the first batch and shows the inside of this "first in the series" before parts were added. As stated, the Silver Pony was the "enabler" of the company, as it was Nichols Industries' first effort and gave them the experience to create the more advanced Cap Guns. — This is my "gun." My cousin Robert has the other half.





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