Nichols Industries, Inc.

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Mike Nichols
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	The Pony was produced in 1957. Or is this one from 1961? I think this one is from 1957. It looks like it is a single-shot model. Maybe someone will enlighten me. Well, somebody has. There were two versions. I haven't a clue as to why they would make two versions (1957 and 1961-BOTH) and have the same name, but the blued example is prettier I think.

Here is the Pony. The gun so common that I don't have one yet! Photo thanks to Robert Nichols - son of Talley W. Nichols

The handle on the Pony is slanted at an unusual angle. This was to try to make a small gun look large and be produced so it could be sold cheap. More unusual than you might think.

			And here is the later model that came out in 1961 to replace the 1957 version. This version is blued and in great shape. Thanks to Bob Terry for the photos.
			Same gun, right side. Bob says that this Cap Gun is a single shot and will work either single or double action. Thanks Bob

Here's basically the same later model Pony, but mint on the card. Be sure to click on the THUMBNAILS!

Photos thanks to Steve Arlin

	Tips On Cap Gun Photography
	While I'm no professional photographer, I have learned a few lessons in taking photos of Nichols Cap Guns. Remember, these are merely amateur tips! First, watch your lighting. While you usually get the best results with a flash, the light invariably comes back into the lens of the camera and you have a big white area, if not just plain overexposure. If you are using a digital camera, then turn off the flash. If you are using incandescant lighting, then adjust your white balance to compensate. (Maybe your "auto" setting does it for you?) Turn on as many lights as possible in the room and perhaps get somebody to hold an umbrella in front of the lights so that the reflection doesn't come back through the lens. If possible buy a 5,000 degree Kelvin lamp, which is close to tropical sunlight. You can find one at a tropical fish store. You can also set your ISO setting to 200 or 400 depending on how much light you have. THEN, the biggest secret of all! When you import your photo into your photo editing software, adjust the gamma factor up until you can see everything properly. If you have resized the photo, then you might also need to increase the focus just a tad. Good luck!

As an example, here is the same photo as the second one, but adjusted in a different way. And it's not just to increase the brightness, as that makes the white handle where you can't see any depth.

And here is the same model of Pony, but in the chrome version.




	Keyston Pony Set



		CLICK ON THUMBNAILS!



	All photos thanks to Steve Cohen

This beautiful Dealers Board display is simply wonderful and has a Pony up on top. This photo is furnished to us by our friend Scott McCollum of Cap Gun Treasures.