Who doesn’t love a good fireworks display?  It’s a great way to relax on a warm summer evening with a BBQ and some beers.  However, with a stagnating economy and tightening safety regulations these majestic works of gunpowder art seem to be slowly fading away.

Light-based toymaker Uncle Milton has tapped into this by combining people’s innate love of fireworks and bazookas with Fireworks Lightshow (called Anywhere Fireworks Bazooka in Japan).  But can they really pack the beauty of a fireworks show into a plastic gun wieldable by a child?  Let’s start by watching the advertisement for it.

The commercial for Anywhere Fireworks Bazooka should shed some light on the workings of this toy… which sheds light.

Wow.  It’s just like there was a hidden camera when I was a child: the forced smiles; a local boy running in with promises of a “fireworks show” then turning out the lights.  I don’t really remember much after that.

Anyway, back to the product. We can deduces from the video that the bazooka projects images of fireworks onto a darkened surface and can also create fireworkesque sound effects to complete the experience. Not to mention the kid working the gun seems to have the keen lighting experience of a teamster who toured with Rush for ten years.

And a complete experience it is as the Anywhere Fireworks Bazooka is capable of projecting 8 different images of fireworks. Which is pretty much everything we saw in the last 10 seconds of the commercial.  Crunching the numbers we can deduce this will entertain for about 10 seconds with a 5 second margin of error.

On the other hand, I hardly fall within the target demographic of this product, being the cynical old fuddy-duddy I am.  Perhaps a young child could get a kick out of playing with lights in the dark from a gun.  So I’ll reserve judgment of this product, it does seem kind of cute after all.

If any readers out there with young children want to throw down 3580 yen (US$45) and give the Anywhere Fireworks Bazooka a try, be sure to let us know how the little ones dig it.

Source: Thanko via Gizmodo (Japanese)

▼In case you missed the commercial the first time.  My favorite part is the kid in the blue shirt’s reaction 8 seconds in.

▼I’m not sure what the images look like in real life but that kid looks a little old to be that blown away by this thing.

▼”Gather everyone, anytime to your home for a FIREWORKS PARTY!“

▼“The ‘Anywhere Fireworks Bazooka’ is a projection-type FIREWORKS BAZOOKA!!”

▼“Relive the enjoyment of shooting fireworks, watching them grow, then fade away, again and again!”