Mechanik Orange

Cubistic lines... invert bathtub, put dome + radar and voilà !

You have some kind of a lunar car !

 

Space Vehicle, ?, Russia, 1970's ?

I am seeing red two ...

Flash Gordon Air Ray Gun, Budson, USA, 1948

Another big red gun, this time all metal and looking like a retro hairdryer... and to a point. The Budson Air Ray gun, when working (most of these are not - the rubber membrane inside did not survive well the ages and crumbled in pieces...) was known to blast a jet of air to whatever you were pointing at.

Very cool to scare the cat or to blast some plastic soldiers out of the way... and as it said on the box: "AS HARMLESS AS THE AIR YOU BREATHE !"

Flash Gordon decall on front barrel

With the cocking mechanism open. 

I am seeing red...

Simple design at it's best - a number of vents on th barrel and a disc to shoot at the stars... This raygun has it all ! 

Windrad Pistole "Apollo", ?, G.D.R., 1970's

All that shines is not gold...

Golden Arrow, Johillco, England, 1929

It's 1929. - 372 km/h (231 mph). And there you have it. For a little time, you are the fastest man on four wheels on earth. A constant battle between Seagrave and Campbell - this one is major Seagrave's response in Daytona to the land speed record.

Buick XP-300 from Tootsie

Every spacegirl needs one !

Hey, fins !

The prototype was built by GM's Buick division in 1951 - all aluminium body - disk brakes - and an advertised speed of 140 Mph due to a supercharged V-8. Soon after, kids all over the US could play with their version. Unfortunately, their parents never got the possibility to buy the real deal...

Big hood, big trunk - but not a lot of legroom !

What's at the back ? a nuclear reactor ?

Futuristic car, Tootsietoys, 1950's, USA

Really a design that will give lots of elements to various GM car until the end of the 1950's : chrome (lots of...), fenders, side panelling etc.

Buick XP-300 (the real thing) (img. source: http://www.carstyling.ru/en/car/1951_buick_xp_300/ )

Sputnik 1 - "ping" "ping" "ping"

Sputnik 1, little satellite on sphere memorabilia, USSR, 1957-60-70 ?

It all really had to start somewhere, and for the space race, 4 October 1957 is it.

With 83kg / 58cm in diameter and 4 external radio antenas, this little metal ball spent 3 months in orbit before reentering earth's atmosphere and burning up in the process.

Did you see Zorba ? He's dancing. On I-tunes ? Nope, on Nep-tune...

In English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut. The term derives from the Greek words ástron (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor" (Wikipedia) - that's why we call their rides space ships and not space planes by the way...

So no wonder the Greeks made also some toys out of these... and what toys ! They are a worthy ancestor to the action figures, with their moveable arms and clear helmet !

Astronaut, Athena (AOHNA), Greece, 1960's

Red streamlining - straight from the 30's

This was the future back in the roaring 20ies and 30ies of last century America. Streamline was the fashion, from locomotives to Art Deco. Detroit was not going to miss this either, and some very avant-garde automotive designs were born in that period (Airflow, Scarab etc.) Mostly not really succesfull, maybe because they went to much ahead of their time.

front

Side

But in the toywrold, well, it's a whole different story. This Wyandotte boattail red sports car was so popular they made these in different sizes and during quite a long run. And building quality means that a little sort of a century later we can still see these in good nick.

Electric headlamps (made of glass - no toy safety test would allow that today !) were actioned through a lever on the right side of the driver. Still trying to figure out the battery used + electrical connections !

going artistic !

even it's shadow shouts speed !

White rubber says the Michelin man ! 

Speed (ster)

Fenders ! (no, not the guitars...)

Boattail roadster, Wyandotte, USA, 1930's

France ? Time to do some laundry, please !

OK, and don't forget the "cadeau Bonux" - little prize toys (a little bit like Cracker Jack's) that were hidden in the bucket of laundry powder. This was one of the ways Procter & Gamble France was able to sell the Bonux brand with very little advertising efforts. The prize in each package was enough for eager kids to influence their parents at the point of sales.

Lessons in drawing... note the "BONUX" lettering on the front left thigh of each figurine.
On the backpack, one can read in very small lettering "REX" and "DÉPOSÉ"

Astronautes, BONUX, France, 1950's-60's 

Very small backpacks... not really good for long spacewalks !

Size : small (seen here next to a Best Spaceman with gun to give a scale)