Johnny Seven OMA
Encyclopedia
Deluxe Reading
Deluxe Reading was a toy manufacturer based in Elizabethtown, New Jersey USA which produced toys under several names including: Deluxe Topper, Deluxe Toy Creations, Reading Deluxe, Topper Corp., Topper Toy Group, and Topper Toys...
under their Topper Toys toyline, and released in 1964. Johnny Seven O.M.A. was the best selling boys' toy of 1964, and was marketed heavily on children's television. It has a unique number of features, including seven different actions (thus the "Seven" in the name). The toy is no longer made, and has become a collector's item.
Functions
All of the firing mechanisms are attached to the main rifle assembly - the pistol inserts from the bottom to provide the rifle grip (the pistol also holds caps for authentic firing sounds). The "Rifle" function shot 12 white bullets one at a time via a bolt action spring mechanism through the silver barrel. Three different "rockets" (The green Anti Tank, Anti Bunker and the red Armour Piercing fired via spring-action on the main barrel. The Grenade Launcher was on top of the gun. Johnny Seven also featured a bipod that provided stability for the various rockets and grenade. The stock could be removed to shorten the weapon while in the "Tommy Gun" mode. The toy when fully assembled was over three feet long and weighed about 4 pounds.Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher is located on top of the main body, above the pistol grip. The launcher extends upwards, and the spring-loaded grenade is launched by depressing a button on the side of the rifle.Anti-tank rocket
The red "Armour Piercing" missile is fired from a launcher located on the right of the body of the gun. The firing button is placed underneath the launcher.Armour-piercing shell / Anti-bunker missile
The two large green shells were fired from the front of the rifle directly above the Rifle barrel. The firing button is on the left side of the rifle.Repeating rifle
12 white bullets are fired from a fixed magazine on the rifle. The bullets are fed into the chamber by a spring-loaded bolt, one at a time.Tommy gun
Pull the lever back towards the stock, press the release button and you get a "rat-a-tat" machine gun noise.Accessories
Topper also marketed an additional spare ammunition pack (for the those lost bullets and missiles) that comprised a complete set of 4 Grenade/missiles and 12 bullets. Additional toy accessories were marketed under the "Johnny Seven" banner including a helmetHelmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...
and walkie-talkies. Deluxe Reading
Deluxe Reading
Deluxe Reading was a toy manufacturer based in Elizabethtown, New Jersey USA which produced toys under several names including: Deluxe Topper, Deluxe Toy Creations, Reading Deluxe, Topper Corp., Topper Toy Group, and Topper Toys...
used the Topper Toys brand to add a modern flair to their new product lines. Deluxe Reading was famous for creating huge package playsets that could be seen by children when viewing the top, unusable shelf in grocery store chains. By creating large, colorful boxes, the space could be used to market to the children that always accompanied parents while food shopping. An unusual marketing "trick" that worked well for Deluxe Reading and later copycat toy companies such as Remco
Remco
Remco Industries, Inc. was a toy company founded in the 1940s that was best known for toys marketed and sold in the late 1950s and 1960s, like the Johnny Reb Cannon and Mighty Matilda Atomic Aircraft Carrier. The slogan was "Every Boy Wants a Remco Toy...And So Do Girls!" Remco was founded by two...
. The "Johnny Seven" box came in two variations - one a standard box showing a boy looking through the sights of the gun, and the second (Rare now for collectors) showed a "Battle field" scenario behind the mounted gun with a see through plastic lid. The Johnny Seven gun was manufactured in four countries, and in order of rarity for collectors purposes, they were Australia, the UK, Canada (in a two language box) and the US version.
Deluxe Reading
Deluxe Reading produced many memorable toys including the Johnny LightningJohnny Lightning
Johnny Lightning is a brand of model cars originally produced by Topper Toys, similar to the hugely successful Mattel Hot Wheels die cast racing cars. They were not quite as successful, one major reason was that the styling, casting and finish was not as of high quality as Mattel's Hot Wheels...
cars (similar to Mattel's Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels
Hot Wheels is a brand of die cast toy car, introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1996, when Mattel acquired rights to the Matchbox brand from Tyco.-Models:...
), the Crime-Buster Gun (similar to the O.M.A only geared towards kids play-acting cops and robbers
Cops and Robbers
-Film:*Cops and Robbers , a 1951 Italian film*Cops and Robbers , a 1973 film starring Cliff Gorman and Joseph Bologna-Music:...
), the Operation X-500 Space Base and others.
Toy weapons technology continued at a rapid pace with the next year bringing a Multi-Pistol 09; a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
type pistol in carrying case with nine different functions.
In popular culture
- The toy was mentioned by Myron Larabee (Played by Sinbad) in the 1996 holiday comedy film Jingle All The WayJingle All the WayJingle All the Way is a 1996 American family comedy film directed by Brian Levant and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Jake Lloyd, James Belushi and Robert Conrad...
. It was mentioned again as the Turbo Man was the best toy since the O.M.A. - Featured on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. Detective Robert Goren finds one in a toy store, and demonstrates all 7 firing modes (Episode: Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Collective) June 2006
- In an episode of the British comic strip AlexAlex (comic strip)Alex is a British cartoon strip by Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor. It first appeared in the short-lived London Daily News in 1987. It moved to The Independent later that year and then to the Daily Telegraph in 1992....
the title character had owned a Johnny Seven as a child, which had allowed him to live out one of his dearest fantasies, as shown in flashback: boasting to his friends that he had bought it with his own money - Mentioned on Heart Like a Wheel (song)Heart Like a Wheel (song)"Heart Like a Wheel" is a song by the British synthpop group The Human League. It is taken from the Romantic? album of 1990.-Background:"Heart Like a Wheel" was the first single to be taken from the Human League's Romantic? album of 1990...
. - Lyrics of the song "What's With Terry, by DerryDerryDerry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group The UndertonesThe UndertonesThe Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...
, include, "Then came the day Terry always did dread
Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
had come a present lay on his bed
A Johnny Seven or a cuddly toy?"
- In the 1992 British sitcom Men Behaving BadlyMen Behaving BadlyMen Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
, Series 1, Episode 6 ("My Brilliant Career"), Dermot (played by Harry Enfield) picks up a Johnny 7, saying "I've always wanted a Johnny 7, let's play war!"