The Raven MP-25 was a cheaply made, mass-produced gun that earned the title of “Saturday night special” by critics. Although the gun has not been produced since 1991, it was one of the 20 most seized by Chicago police in 2015. Because it was produced in such a large quantity and was relatively inexpensive, the MP-25 is still readily available on the black market and can be disposed of with little monetary loss. 

My corner store happened to have this very gun reproduced in plastic, with almost identical markings, for sale next to the cash register. The plastic toy was only distinguishable from the original by its dayglow orange tip and trigger. It came packaged with rubber darts and a few plastic bad-guy targets. I hid this toy from my young son, just as carefully as I had hidden the real gun from him while working on this project.