Need help with a Noboru Mutobe "Rocken Fast Draw Special"

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum, and this is my first post. Please note I am not a model gun collector. However, I am a longtime, serious collector of militaria and recently bought a large portion of a deceased man's collection from his estate. The collector had been a flight engineer for a major airline based out of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area in the USA. He had traveled the world collecting a variety of interesting military and firearms-related materials.  

Among the many items I purchased was the "Rocken Fast Draw Special Cal .45 Blank" model gun. Inside one chamber of the model gun was a tiny handwritten note from the collector saying: "Only six of these revolvers were made by Mutobe in Tokyo." The other chambers had five brass cartridges. The chamber note and wording on the model gun gave me a beginning point for an Internet search. I found some information on Noboru Mutobe, Rocken, Nakata, etc., and my internet search also led me to this forum. I had no idea how involved the world of model gun collecting is!

Anyway, I found few references to this particular model gun, but it appears from my limited information that the model gun may be of interest to collectors and might have some decent value. For example, I found one reference to the model in a 2011 post on the for-sale forum of this website that advertised the model as the "holy grail" of model guns. The selling price was listed at $1,200, but I don't know what it actually sold for.

I would appreciate any information any of you might have on this model gun — production details, value, etc. As I wrote earlier, I'm a complete novice with this particular stuff. Below are several photos. Thanks in advance for any replies!

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

It certainly looks an interesting model by Nakata. I'm not a revolver expert but I'd expect somebody will be along shortly with hopefully some information.

8ace

The model gun appears to be made of solid brass. The finish is still very good on all metal and on the grips. Here are more photos:

Here are some photos of the five brass cartridges that were in the model gun. The sixth chamber had the tiny handwritten note, pictured below:

This is a photo of how the collector had the model gun displayed on a wall. I have smudged out his name that is etched on the brass plaque. The .45 cartridge on the plaque does not appear to be the same as the five brass cartridges that were in the cylinder.

Hi,
I saw the same on GunBroker some 10 possibly 12 yrs ago. Sadly the seller didn't ship internationally hence I was prevented from bidding on the auction.
I don't know if it's made of brass or just gold-plated, if it's brass it should polish up easily. However, if it's made of Zymac & gold-plated then you might just devalue it by polishing it as the gold-plating will just come off. I would suggest polishing a small area that is not exposed to the naked eye, i.e. the area where the trigger-guard is mated to the underside of the frame or the underside of the ejector tube.
If my recollection of the GunBroker is correct, your replica is indeed quite rare as yours is only the second one I have come across. As for its price, the same piece -some 10 or 12 yrs ago - was definitely quite pricy but it was also in mint condition. I think was under 1K then but one has to take into account the passage of time.
The wall-plaque is obviously aftermarket and was specially made for the last owner thus the dummy cartridge on display differs from the ones designed for the cylinder chambers.
All the best,
Broomie

broomie wrote:

Hi,
I saw the same on GunBroker some 10 possibly 12 yrs ago. Sadly the seller didn't ship internationally hence I was prevented from bidding on the auction.
I don't know if it's made of brass or just gold-plated, if it's brass it should polish up easily. However, if it's made of Zymac & gold-plated then you might just devalue it by polishing it as the gold-plating will just come off. I would suggest polishing a small area that is not exposed to the naked eye, i.e. the area where the trigger-guard is mated to the underside of the frame or the underside of the ejector tube.
If my recollection of the GunBroker is correct, your replica is indeed quite rare as yours is only the second one I have come across. As for its price, the same piece -some 10 or 12 yrs ago - was definitely quite pricy but it was also in mint condition. I think was under 1K then but one has to take into account the passage of time.
The wall-plaque is obviously aftermarket and was specially made for the last owner thus the dummy cartridge on display differs from the ones designed for the cylinder chambers.
All the best,
Broomie

Thanks much for the reply. The model gun is definitely brass, and it's quite heavy. It's amazing how it replicates the action of an actual firearm. Overall, I think it's in very good condition but not mint — it was, after all, sitting out on that plaque mounted on the collector's wall for many, many years. And I think it must be missing one cartridge; I assume it came with six originally.

Although I appreciate the tip regarding polishing, I don't plan to mess with it. However, I would like to sell it if possible, which is why I have been trying to get some idea of its value. Also, I know it would likely sell better to a collector outside of the U.S., but I've never shipped internationally. I don't know what sort of safe and secure process would work in such a transaction. I've bought and sold within the U.S. via Gunbroker, eBay, etc., but that's it.

Before I started researching the model gun a bit, I had planned to take it to a gun show and see if I could get $50 for it. I'm now assuming it's worth a little more than that! Anyway, if anyone has any interest in it or tips for me on shipping internationally, I'm all ears.

Thanks again....

Rocken is a very rare find!

This was basically a one-man company by a leading modelgun designer who hand-made them in very low numbers.
https://mp40modelguns.forumotion.net/t1968-rokken-rocken

I've seen his models fetch high hundreds of USD on Japanese auctions in the past.
No idea how much it would be worth now, and outside of Japan, hopefully this can be preserved as a rarity and not "just a Colt model".

Shipping is complicated those days indeed. It used to be easier to import from Japan (considered a "safe" country) than from USA (where everything could be considered a gun just to be on a safe side). A metal model with open barrel makes it more complicated.
Sadly COVID impact made it even harder (huge delays in transit and in Customs).
I was willing to accept the import hassles as long as the sender tackled the export requirements and included agreed paperwork, but I have not done that in loong time.