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Man from U.N.C.L.E. Gadgets -
The United Network Command For Law Enforcement featured on the
espionage series THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E./NBC/1964-68 used an
array of pseudo-scientific gadgets during each weekly episode.

Man from U.N.C.LE. Guns
The firearm of choice for the
U.N.C.L.E. agents was the
Walther P-38 pistol (priced at $1,100 in 1965), a German
semi-automatic pistol equipped with scopes, and silencers. The
guns fired
sleep darts, which were capable of knocking out the
opposition from five hours to five days. But when required U.N.C.L.E agents fired bullets.
The Walther P-38 pistol converted into a carbine type rifle
when the 3 and 1/2 inch pistol barrel with silencer was
replaced with a 12-inch carbine breakaway barrel and stock.
Occasionally, the U.N.C.L.E. agents used a cigarette
lighter that concealed a .32 caliber pistol (Flip the lighter
lid and BOOM!), or a gas gun that looked like a miniature
camera that fired gas pellets through its lens.

Man from U.NC.L.E. hand gun with
rifle extensions
The guns used by
T.H.R.U.S.H. agents (the bad guys) were
conventional Army surplus carbine with an infrared light and
snooper scope with a logo of a thrush bird on their stock
handle. They also used a cane shaped gun that fired deadly
gas. Ideal Toys reproduced and sold thousands of replicas of
the U.N.C.L.E. and T.H.R.U.S.H. guns starting at $4.99.
Other gadgets included:
- A three meter cyanide bomb (a glass cigar case filled
with milk with a button on one end and a rubber eraser on
the other)
- A portable mine detector (made from a Boy Scout
flashlight a piece of automobile antenna, a telephone buzzer
and a flash bulb)
- Gas bombs (made from dry ice)
- Miniature reel-to-reel tape recorders
- X-757, an explosive painted on toenails like nail
polish. In an emergency it could be peeled off and used like
plastic explosives. This handy gadget was used April Dancer
(Stephanie Powers) on THE GIRL FROM U.N.C.L.E./NBC/1966-67.
During each episode, U.N.C.L.E. agents were threatened by a
variety of evil gadgets including:
- Fear gas
- Suspended animation experiments
- Brainwashing; fungus deadly to Soviet wheat crop
- Brain-altering ray
- Thought-reading device
- Vaporizing machine
- Chemical to destroy jungles
- Volcano-activating device
- Chemical capable of stopping the reproductive process
- Quadrillenium X-a very heavy metal with high magnetic
powers which THRUSH used to disrupt world communications
- High-frequency sound machine that shattered eardrums
- Rejuvenation process
- Quartzite radiation projector
- Earthquake-activating machine
- Radioactive bats to jam the world's radar
- Plus X/Minus X drug which heightens and dulls senses
- Laser guns
- Deadly hiccup gas
- Communications jamming device
- Superman formula to build an army to conquer Africa
- Antimatter
- Tidal-wave machine
- Project Quasimodo, a miniature atomic bomb
- Powerful heat activated explosives
- Perfume atomizer with secret formula
- Exploding apples used to trigger nuclear stockpile
- Extract gold from sea water
- Deadly thermal prism
- Thought-controlling device
- Molecutronic gun
- Docility gas
- Slow-motion gas
- High speed rocket
- Sonic Propulsion Underwater Demolition weapon developed
by THRUSH to destroy ships
- Reincarnation serum
- Molecular reorganizer
- Color-extracting machine developed to turn world art
treasures white
- Vitamin Q-a super strength pill.
TRIVIA NOTE: In May 1970, MGM
Studios faced with financial problems decided to auction off all of its props
including the guns used on THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. The Masers
sold for $45 each, the Walthers sold for $150 each. The rest
into the hands of collectors. Reportedly, all of the fancy
attachments for the guns were later found in a garbage
dumpster.
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