The MOLAB or Mobile Laboratory is a classic NASA concept and one which featured in the SpaceX and Golden Astronaut toy ranges. Choosing the iconic Alex Schomburg molab artwork [see bottom of article] as their basis, the design then roved across from Tri-ang and Multiple Toys to other smaller toy manufacturers.
R&L, the cereal model premium kings picked up the Molab as part of their SPACE series for Kellogs and versions began to appear around the world. Kristy Toys from Mexico were at the cheap and nasty end of the scale and I've posted about their bags of Criaturas Extranas before.
So I was excited to see this different Kristy bag on Ebay earlier in the year on fleabay. The crater critters are in attendance again but this time there is only one Molab rather than the handful we saw in the last bag to surface. We also get to see the rear of the toy, which appears to be without wheels [so no MO in this LAB!]. Interestingly the seller stated that "The toy was in patent pending in 1970,s before breaking up the factory."
My second MOLAB sighting is about header card art. The toy itself has nothing to do with the MOLAB, namely the Cosmic Water Gun. The card art is interesting though. The little MOLAB and rocket group are a direct lift from Schomberg's Rocket Stories cover illustration from 1953 [bottom]. They've thrown Spock in there for good measure too, whose arm seems to have morphed into the moonscape!
Anybody else like MOLABs?
Ahh-Ha! I thought I'd imagined this post when I found it in the early-hours of Saturday morning, then couldn't find it again when I woke-up hours later...did I dream about R&L piracies I thought...I do tend to dream about Black Forest Gateau, so nothings ruled out...wishful dreamimg!!
ReplyDeleteHugh
Hi Hugh, dreaming about Schwarzwalderkirschetorte eh!Did you get to eat it? Yep, I posted it for midnight but got confused which day midnight was on! I'm easilly confused!
ReplyDeleteHugh, wanted to ask, the ebay seller said that the Kristy toys had a patent pending before the factory broke up. Wouldn't they have already been patented by R+L? Why would a Mexican pirate try to patent them? any ideas?
ReplyDeleteAh...because if you put 'Patent Pending' or the local equivalent on a product you give it A) the appearance of being more legitimate ['official' or 'legally covered'] than it might be (or IS in this case!), and B) hope to scare off any pirates further down the food chain!!
ReplyDeleteHugh
When the R&L facrories were closed in the seventies, a lot of the molds went from Australia to small scale production in Mexico. Bootleg crater critters and other Kellogs premiums turn up today, generally in garish colours. The cast quality is usually good, but these bagged toys are probably third generation copies from earlier models, hence the half molab, which was originally a 15 part kit.
ReplyDelete'scare off any pirates further down the food chain' .... I love that Hugh! Great image. Wonder who was at the very end, the bottom feeders? Maybe Kristy as its just one part. Reduced from 15 eh Bill. Any less detail on the Molab and it would just be a blob of plastic! A Mlob! Have any of you chaps got that brilliant looking Diko boxed set of RL toys with the Molab in there?
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