Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thunderbang! And how to make one...


Much discussion today about comic freebies...my thanks to David Livingstone for this illustration, and to Sandy Taylor for instructions on how to make a Thunderbang:

"Tom. For goodness sake (as you would say). You cut a square of card. Cut a triangle of brown paper to cover half of the card from opposite corners and tape it to two edges.
Fold the card across the other two corners and you have it.
Flick your new device so the paper pops (or thunderbangs) out.
I think they were given away with Beano and maybe the Topper (was there a Topper?)."

David adds:
"Tom

For the blog if needed, don't say I ain't good to you.


Construction
---------------
Off 7" inch square card - were the earlier ones not a bit bigger - but maybe me being just that bit wee.

Anyway, adding to what Sandy says, I'd say at least cornflake box sort of thickness decorated to taste, with stiff brown wrapping paper well secured across 2 edges. Then both folded diagonally.

Applying the science, I wonder if an application of your significant others' hairspray would make that brown paper more rigid and give you a better bang? ......

Off for trials :-)

ps
After a bit of on line research, my cracker seems to have been a free gift in July 1998 .... so definitely a new comer. God - 10 years under the record player, shows how much dusting I do."

2 comments:

Donald J Scump said...

On the subject of comic freebies I don't remember the comic but I do remember the free gift, oh yes!

The comic was based on the David Carradine Kung Fu tv show and the gift a much treasured, deep copper coloured, metal, not plastic, metal Chinese dragon amulet.

And I lost it I've never been the same since :(

Anonymous said...

I remember the Thunderbang from the 1950s. It was given away with the late lamented Dandy comic. I was looking for illustrations of it because I need a pigeon scarer for the back garden. They're taking over!
Peter Bradshaw, Tadcaster, Yorkshire.