As you know I'm a sucker for possible origins of space toys and box art. Waiting for our Friday curry delivery I browsed past auctions on Liveauctioneers. Well guess what! Take a gander at the JR21 X-60 Space Rocket on Launching Truck [top picture] we know and love and compare it with what is it's first appearance on the blog, the yellow Ideal Space Fighter Transport XP-19 (made of molded plastic) [very bottom of picture]. What do you think?
Bottom picture - both Ideal toys [top one unknown to me] - Liveauctioneers
The two ships featured in the lower picture are extremely rare toys. The saucer is the Ideal Futuramic Ship -- it breaks down into 30+ different pieces, including space men, scout ships, and various other components. A beautiful toy that's rarely found in anything approaching complete condition (and yet still gets a pretty penny). You can see a long discussion of it on the space toy forum Alphadrome, located here:
ReplyDeletehttp://danefield.com/alpha/forums/index.php?showtopic=11111
The second ship is the Ideal Futuramic Space Fighter Transport. I can't say I've ever seen one for sale -- it just never comes up.
Both are fantastic, beautiful, tip-top high-end toys. There are collectors out there who would trade body parts for them. :)
Does the Liveauctioneer listing include the final prices? The Futuramic saucer has been known to go for a couple thousand dollars in complete condition...
I can also attest to the scarcity and extreme value of the 50's classic Futuramic Spaceship. Though I don't own one I can say that I have held a perfect condition example and it was a heavenly experience that I cannot describe. Until this posting I had not seen the excellent pictures and description of the ship.
ReplyDeleteOne unique trait of classic 1950's plastic toys is the strong Blue, Red, and Yellow colors. This spaceship is of the finest play value.
And yes, I am one of those collectors that would spare no expense to own a complete example in just about any condition... yet, I also know where there is one I can gaze on and hold anytime - just not to own.
@ Astronit
ReplyDeleteI know a couple people who own one, but unfortunately they live nowhere near me. So I've yet to see one in the flesh... er, plastic. It's definitely a toy I'd love to own, especially if I can snag that wonderful display box as well. One day, one day...
I've never seen these toys before. They probably weren't around in the UK. They are cool though and I love that discussion about the missing spaceship radar on the Alphadrome forum. I agree with the 'dromers that it wasn't the same radar found on the MMM Firebolt Laser Canon - just doesn't look right! Thanks for the link Doc! Fascinating.
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