Halvautomatisk legetöjspistol
Lego AS, Denmark. 1949

Self-loading rapid-firing pistol. This plastic version is ca.1949. Also shown are several packages of ammunition (cylindrical plastic bullets). Original image courtesy Jan Katanek.

An unusual subject for Lego, the toy pistol was the only contemporary ‘war toy’ ever produced by the company. The pistol, released as a wood toy in 1945 and a plastic toy in 1949, had a relatively complicated mechanism that allowed it to be self-loading and rapid firing.

Pressing on the trigger would load a cylinderical plastic projectile from the magazine and pull it into the back of the barrel where it would then be released by the action of a main spring. The spring would also move the trigger forward to repeat the process. The mechanism was unique enough that Godtfred patented it. It was the first Lego patent for a toy.