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| Mattel's Man In Space - but how does he go to the toilet? |
1969's "giant leap for mankind" was still two years in the future when one of America's leading toy manufacturers, MATTEL, released MAJOR MATT MASON and his space-age buddies in 1967. (The copyright date was 1966, but the toys didn't actually appear in shops 'til the following year.) There was CALLISTO (from Jupiter), SERGEANT STORM, DOUG DAVIS, LIEUTENANT JEFF LONG and CAPTAIN LAZER, who was a giant plastic figure in contrast to the smaller rubber-and-wire bodies of Matt and his colleagues.
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| How embarrassing - they both turned up at the Venusian Ambassador's ball in matching space sleds |
Major Matt Mason was a brilliant toy and also a rubbish one at the same time; brilliant because it looked great and the playtime possibilities seemed unlimited due to the loads of equipment one could purchase for the astronaut. (Moon suits, space stations, etc.) Rubbish because the paint on the rubber bodies started to peel off within hours, and the wire inside the figures broke within days. So perishable were they that it's a miracle any of them survived to the present day.
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| Storm and Davis - just good friends |
However, in their time, they were the "must-have" toys of the moment, and many a childhood was brightened by its association (short-lived as it may have been) with the first man on the moon - in Mattel's universe at least. Apparently, TOM HANKS is to star in an upcoming MAJOR MATT MASON movie. Perhaps we'll soon see Matt and all his buddies gracing toy shop shelves once more. Now wouldn't that be something?
(Photos from my own personal collection. Please excuse the dust.)
