Its a cracking little toy too, the crank handle elevated the cold war style gantry and the rocket blasted off at least 30 feet - i recall as a child that nearly everything had rockets and missiles, bullets and bombs and they were all seriously powerful. This one shown here is no exception. I picked it up inexpensively on ebay and it was a real buzz to line up a battalion of star wars figures with my eight year old son, Will and take turns blasting them with the rocket plane! Great fun.
If memory serves, a variation of this toy was offered as a 'send-away' premium on cereal in the sixties - Sugar Puffs maybe ?
6 comments:
Dunno about a "send away" version. Please, please, pretty-please show me if you find it.
I do know there were some cardboard cut-out premiums somewhat like this. I'll have to check my database (fancy talk for a whole load of unorganised directories hihi) ... but off the top of my head, those were with "Cubs".
And there was a much smaller, flimsier rocket and launcher given away inside packets of Sugar Puffs back in (... thinks ...) August 1959. I might have sent you a scan of the advert for that, but let me know if not. We Toads aren't known for our memories, so I could be wrong. Like, no one says "Toads never forget", oh no .... it's always elephants. But what you should ask yourself is "what have elephants got to remember anyway?" It's not like they are busy, busy, busy like us Toads. Um .... what were we talking about? I've lost track ...
Anyway, let me know about that "send away" offer, please. All excited now.
OK, I've checked my database (hihi) and the cardboard rockets and launchers were Shredded Wheat (Welgar), back in October 1958.
There was indeed at least one "Send away" offer. It's not quite the same ... it looks from the drawing to be a hand-held launcher. The cereal was Quaker Puffed Wheat, and the year was (May) 1960. Could that be the one you recall, Wote? Of is there another (looks hopeful).
I'll try to post a pic later.
Coukd well be the one - if ive seen one, it would have emerged fro the toad archives!
Look froward to seeing Toad's pictures. When young I had a Hong-Kong gun that fired winged missiles like this, with cardboard wings though. I discovered that if you removed the wings, the body of the missile made a far more satisfying projectile!
Don't go getting too excited now. The pictures aren't very good quality, sorry to say.
Doubt I will be able to do them tonight, sorry (booooo), but will as soon as I can (yay!!!)
Here you go .....
http://tinyurl.com/6gtmofs
I need your thoughts, good people. Look at the "Rocket Planes and Launchers" advert. Does the launched plane look to you as if the body is a matchstick? It gives a good idea of the size of these if they are put together that way.
Any of you oldies remember these?
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