Second Bloggiverary - Box Art to the Stars

The darker evenings closing in as Autumn kicks in begin to remind me of Christmas as a boy and the excitement of opening presents to find my favourite toys hidden inside. Even today, I eye retangular shaped presents with eager anticipation, but am invariably disappointed when it turns out to be more deodourant and talc and not a vintage space toy.

Back in the day though, I distinctly recall three instances when I was absolutely overjoyed at the contents of the wrapping. Spacex toys were always a regular staple on the Xmas wishlist, but the 3 larger Spacex Major toys were meted out to me during the year of release as a substitute for chocolate at Easter and fireworks on Bonfire night, culminating with the Nuclear Pulse on Xmas morning.

Of all the boxed space toys iv'e seen over the years, the simple, colourful artwork on these three toys has always remained a firm favourite of mine. Sword boxes all look great and dramatic, but the Spacex brands clean lines echoed the simple nature of the toys and for once, you really did get what it said on the tin. Well almost, my one gripe with the artwork was the Nuclear Pulse. The box shows a rocket launching from the bay on the back and the actual toy came with a rather insignificant 'space plane'. Also the toy didn't reflect the colours on the box, or even more annoyingly - the colours on the card back where the craft was depicted in a handsome blue and red livery. The toy came in a hideous yellowy orange with two different coloured spinners, unlike the MLP and Moonbase, which were accurately displayed in all their colourful glory on the box.

But all moaning aside, these boxes represent a real milestone in collecting for me and will always take me back to those heady days of boyhood.