Major Matt Mason and the Space Station
“Why did the Major mean so much to me? Because I was an Apollo baby,” wrote Washington Post reporter Frank Ahrens in 1996. “The Major represented the idealism of childhood and American can-do-ism. If we had put a man on the moon in 1969, just eight years after President Kennedy commanded it, surely Major Matt’s moon station would be a likelihood within a few years.”
from FastCompany.com
Our latest addition to our collectible toys is Major Matt Mason – 3 characters – Major Matt Mason, Civilian Doug Davis (yellow suit), and Callisto – the Space Alien – plus the space station. The baby boomer that owned this sure took good care of it!
It’s interesting to hear how kids played with these toys using ingenuity and imagination:
For kids like Ystrom, though, the joys of playing with Mason came from some of the simple but ingenious designs that Ryan and his band of defense-industry expats came up with to represent their vision for playing astronaut. “You could take the string from Mason’s jet pack, attach it to a door, and he’d go shooting to the top of it,” Ystrom recalls. “On the back of Mason’s pack there was a psychedelic spiral in orange and black. When Mason flew, it was hypnotic. It’s what we thought we were heading toward.”
from FastCompany.com
GI Joe and Combat Man’s Equipment Case
The case was a knock-off and offered through the Sears and JC Penney’s Christmas catalogs in the 1960s. THE GI JOE character and costumes are the real thing.
Combat Man’s Equipment Case was a rather typical carrying case of the day, constructed of cardboard covered with vinyl, with metal clasps. But this carrying case had a difference. Printed on each side of the carrying case was a painting of a jeep. In the middle of the case, on each side, was a transparent, vinyl window. And inside the case, there was a little shelf where you could seat your action figure.
from PopCult
