Toy weapons

Toy weapons are popular with children.

Some are essentially similar to the real thing, but less powerful, e.g. the catapult. Weapons for cutting and stabbing have dull toy versions. Toy guns either can not really shoot projectiles or just soft ones with limited speed.

However, cap pistols use caps with small amounts of explosives for the sound effect. Toy hand-grenades do not contain explosives.

For big weapons the toy version is usually on a smaller scale. Metal weapons often have toy versions of a lighter material, such as plastic.

Toy weapons that look very much like a real one are forbidden in many countries, because they can be used for threatening, for example in a robbery. Realistic looking toys are often called replicas.

In the U.S.A. since 1992, toy guns are required to have an orange plug or be entirely brightly colored to prevent them being mistaken for real weapons.

See also weapon