The Moon Ranger bump-n-go flying saucer toy with supersonic
sound and multi-colour revolving lights.
I bought this little beauty at the recent Doncaster toy fare
from a dealer who was glad to see the back of it due to the excessive noise
from its supersonic motor!
Well, I have to admit it does sound like a vacuum cleaner
when it’s whizzing around the floor, its bump-n-go action resisting all obstacles.
The box artwork and lettering leads me to think this version
is from the early sixties, although there’s no date on the box or toy.
The maker (or importer)is credited to the Clifford Series on
mine, although I've seen different
versions of this toy. This one recently seen on eBay might well be a T in a Circle
example. (Photo eBay)
I do like the little features on the toy, which remind me of
something you’d more likely see on tin plate toys.
Set in little clear domes on the saucer hull are the four
crew men – the Commander, Navigator, Engineer and Radar Controller.
The main centre dome houses the multi coloured revolving
lights which are not unlike the Sword Moon Bus set up.
It’s often suspected that this is the toy that JR21 based
their Thunderbird 5 on. I can certainly see similarities.
To finish I've done a little film showing the Moon Ranger in action.
That's really a neat toy. Have you ever noticed that many of these old toys which feature sound like flying saucers or jet airliners tend to sound like vacuum cleaners?
ReplyDeleteHi--I am 59 and woke up to a "Rosebud" moment--I remembered the lighted dome of the sacer I had as a kid--around 1959-60, I think. Mine also was "bump'n'go" and beeped like sputnik as it went around the floor! I googled to find something like it and the video here was more than I could have asked for--Thanks for the post--really appreciated seeing this!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we stirred a memory or two there.
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