Drive me to the moon...

 

Radar Car T218, DTC Educational Toy, Hong Kong, 1970's

Major Tom ? nope... Major Matt Mason !

Matt Mason, Mattel,
Hong Kong, 1966

Ford Fairlane in space...

Space Patrol, Nomura, Japan, 1962

detail (astronaut)

detail  (gun litho)

This version is lightblue and the canister is at the back !

(other versions have canisters as backpack for spaceman) 

sponsored by... Ford !

1959 Ford Fairlane (non-space ready !)

Another Space Bagatelle game !

Raket-Gezelschapsspel, 1950's, Belgium or Netherlands ?

Rules of play behind the board

Observe !

Sky Observer badge, ?, 1950's-60's

No good Space Cadet goes out without it ! It's the "official" badge telling the non-initiated that you know your satellites better than everyone else ! Wear it proudly on you and reach for the sky !

Walk the walk, Captain Radar !

Captain Radar, Ball Manufacturing Company, USA, 1950's

Walkers are always interesting toys - making use of gravity, the weight fixed at the waist of the figurine would make it move forward... untill it would fall of the table or whatever other shelf it stands on. Not a lot survived all these falls !

The Renwal take-a-part spaceman

The concept is great, turn the key on the belly of the astronaut and see him go into pieces... then build it back together. It is basically a 3-D puzzle and has been on my wish-list for quite some time. Still need to find him a helmet though... oh well, the hunt continues...

Sapceman, Renwal, USA, 1950's

It's the Man of Action in Space ?

In the USA you had GI JOE, here in Europe he was redubbed ACTION MAN. Not a doll... an action figurine ! Most of the early ones wore military outfits, but this astronaut is pretty much up to specs with the first spacesuits of the Gemini and Mercury missions at NASA. (see more about Action Man here).

The original suits were made by the (now defunct) tire company B.F. GOODRICH and were at the time as critical as any of the other equipment developped for NASA to get people in space. See more about this here.

Action Man Astronaut Set, Palitoy, 1967

The real right stuff - original NASA
picture of Mercury Astronauts

Diver or spaceman ?

Or diver ?

Spaceman, Torgano ?, Italy ? 

They don't eat a lot in Space...

Tubes and hoses and pipes and plumbing... in space...

Astronaute, JEM RF, France, 1970's (?)

I think they made these when "Scoubidous" (plastic lace bracelets and trinkets) were all the rage...

Obscure French Spaceman ?

Spaceman with missile launcher, Hugonnet, France, 1970's ?

Does anyone have more information about this toyline ? ("Série FERAL") Looks cool - and this one has a cape ressembling the ones on the Gatchaman figurines from CEJI. (merci à Utopia !)

Britains' Space soldiers...

These were also part of my childhood... Bright yellow - at least they did not get lost in the carpet like so many other unfortunates !

Stargard Space Craft, Britains, England, 1981

The ship was all genius toy-design : a weighted base in the transparent cockpit always kept the astronauts level. This type of design was reminiscent of spaceship design in the Yoko Tsuno books I read at that time...

"the Forge of Vulcan" - pg.16 detail - Roger Leloup

A Moon Suit ? What Moon Suit ?

... Maybe something like this ?

Adventure Man moonsuit, Cecil Coleman, Hong Kong 1976

Going back where ?

Luna Astronauts, Jean, Germany, 1970's

A lot of "going back to the moon" - talk today around the news of the Spacex crew. Here are the suits the Germans thought of in the 1970's... Wonder how much different they will be !

Don't loose a piece !

Wooden Jigsaw puzzle, High Spot, UK ? 1960's

Parachuting in space ?

Up to not too long ago this would have been a silly idea... Why would you need a parachute in space where there is no air ? But since Felix Baumgartner's record - you kind of start to understand the whole spacesuit with a parachute thingy... Italians were on it a lot sooner... 9cm. figurine.

Spaceman w/parachute, "Brevettato"
(= patented), Italy (Torino), Aerogiocattoli,
Flli Giolitto

Back of figurine with parachute
remains...

Your friend from space...

Mechanical Shooting Man from Mars, Irwin, USA, 1952-1953