LIKE CHRISTMAS DAY! THE TOMY 'APOLLO SATURN' BY DARTH

All the Known Apollo Saturns - Above - Boxes, Below - the toys [L to R]: Sears, Tomy and Century 21 SWORD

Hi Paul,

Attached are the pics of the Tomy Ranger 7. It's EXACTLY the same size and shape as the Sears one, so my guess is that the internal capsule is also identical, but since I never had one for the Sears rocket I really don't know what the difference is. The pics I've attached are of the Tomy capsule that I got recently. Also the instruction sheet. It's all from the exact same mold as the Sears toy, so still no logos, however the box clearly states Tomy as you can see. The opposite sides and ends of the box are identical.

The blue plastic is much darker on the Tomy version. It was damaged around the wheels (same place as my Sears one). Both appear to have "heat" damage. I still haven't figured out exactly HOW it was supposed to make smoke. I took it apart and repaired the cracks and wasn't able to see the smoke maker. It is underneath a rotating metal drum with swiss-cheese holes in it. As the wheels turn, the drum turns. There is a grey plastic "tailpipe" and what appears to be a light bulb inside the drum (presumably for flashing). I just can't see how it heats up, where the smoke oil goes or anything about how it works. But clearly it must heat up quite a bit to cause the brown heating of the plastic. Must have been a real fire hazard.

Thanks to you and Wotan for the tip about the Japanese auction. Made me very happy. My shelf is starting to look like the Cape in its heyday! Now all I need is a VAB...

Cheers

Darth