In 2008 I posted the above pic of the rear of an LP-type toy spacemen set I'd seen on Ebay. Unfortunately I didn't keep the front shot [anyone?]. The spacecraft art work on the rear has long puzzled me until earlier this year when I recognised the rocket.
Here you can see it's source in Robert McCall's wonderful painting, which appeared in LIFE in the US and Look and Learn in the UK during the mid-Sixties. But as you can see the background isn't the same as the box art. So where did that come from?
It came from here, our friend the Nuclear Ferry's original source, another Robert McCall masterpeice. This double spread again graced both LIFE and Look and Learn magazines.
Above is a close-up of McCall's Ferry painting showing a beautiful distant Ferry at depth. You can see clearly the small craft in the right corner, which was lifted by the box artist, although the lunar crater's been moved. The craft is actually the detached front 'taxi' of the Nuclear Ferry, which transported the passengers on the final short journey to the surface. The elite Ferry Owners Club will have to confirm whether this image appears on the Century 21 box as well!
Illustrations: LIFE/Look and Learn Copyright
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