In 1971, long before the famous Walkers or AT-ATs stomped onto the screen in Empire Strikes Back, Cragstan decided it would be a great idea to combine the typical walking robot concept with a space vehicle. Just two years after man had landed on the moon and taken his first walk on the moon, the Americus Moon Bug stepped out across rugs and carpets across the world.
Disdaining the usual balloon tyres or caterpillar tracks of its fellow moon buggies, the Americus looks like a true 'bug' with beetle-like walking action. A clever mechanism enables the vehicle to lift alternate sets of cushioned feet and amble along, radar scanner whirling madly on top.
Vaguely reminiscent of the SWORD family of vehicles and very close to a small illustration in the Moon Crawler story in the annual, of a vehicle in the background of a garage shot - called the Toad. This was a four legged, square craft with a similar cockpit arrangement that sits patiently in the rear of a panel in the strip.
Another remarkable and interesting aspect to the toys design is its registration with the US Patents Office, Cragstan were extremely thorough in their depiction of the vehicle for the patent and included several wonderful illustrations of the design, along with a comprehensive description.
Although I do have an Americus in my collection, this boxed version is courtesy of Ebay and the drawings from the US Patent Office.
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