It has to be said that some SpaceX 1 series toys are equally as attractive and scarce as their series 2 counterparts.
One of my favourite Series 1 toys is the gorgeous Apollo Tracker pictured above courtesy of Bill. As usual, I don't and never did possess one of these but I'm drawn to its simple classic Sci-Fi looks. Its that big antenna!
Probably more than the toy even, I just love the illustration of the Apollo Tracker on the back of its backing card. Its pictured below courtesy of Will Osborne [never managed to get a front view!]. The clean two-tone artwork is fabulous. It makes me think of a sandy desert planet with a cold pale moon.
Interesting that the backing card uses the Golden Astronaut names, Lift Loader and Terrain Tiger. Surely this vehicle is Spacex II, not I?
ReplyDeleteThat is interesting Kevin. I'll have to see if I have any other images of the Tracker backing card and compare them. As for SpaceX I, I'm going on what it says on the backing card shown. Messrs. Vreede and Bulloch will know I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I know the Apollo Tracker was part of the later wave, hence the different bubble pack, of smaller Spacex toys which still came under the Spacex 1 banner. So technically it's Spacex 1 but as part of later set I'm happy to refer to it as Spacex 2. So you're both right in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe way the cardbacks portray it, the original Spacex Stage 1 series was expanded by four additional vehicles to become the Spacex 1 series, "a Pippin product made in Hong Kong for Triang". Which was then followed up by the all-new Spacex II series, which also included the red Commander pin badge on each card. I do believe that the original Stage 1 vehicles continued to be sold on their original 'starry black' cards and never received the new coloured cards which were only used for the new additions.
ReplyDeleteAs to the new names, these were taken over from the Golden Astronaut versions, but I've never seen any toy with such a name in an original Spacex blister card. I do have a Spacex Earth Launch Pad set with two Security Copters in it (as opposed to P3 helicopters) so there's some mystery remaining on that point! :)
Hope that helps -- Paul
And forgot to say that the Apollo Tracker is one of the four vehicles added to the original Stage 1 fleet to become the Pippin-produced Spacex 1 series. So in a way everybody's right. :)
ReplyDeleteTo recap:
Spacex Stage 1 = original 18 toys
Pippin Spacex 1 = Stage 1 + 4 new vehicles
Pippin Spacex II = 14 new toys
Best -- Paul
That helps, thanks. the 4 additional vehicles in the Pippin Spacex I being Apollo tracker, rescue craft, glider and which other?
ReplyDeleteI suspect it would be the Nuclear Ferry, wouldn't it, Kev.
DeleteAh, ok. Which ones had the card with the picture of the Saturn V on and which were on the grey card? Sorry for all the questions, but Spacex II is a mystery to me!
ReplyDeleteThe only carded one I've got with the Saturn V on is the Nasa Glider. I would speculate that the Apollo Tracker and the Rescue Craft might be the same but I don't know for sure.
DeleteThe nasa glider had an orange card with Saturn V. Lunar Transporter was dark blue card background, as far as I recall, the Molab and Lama and Rescue Craft were silver grey. Lunar Orbiter and Nuclear Ferry are definitely grey. I cant recal the colour of Surveyor and didnt have Moonbuggy or Ap Tracker carded!
ReplyDeleteThe card colour depends on the themed series each vehicle belongs to ('Earth Base', 'Space Exploration' etc). Where thankfully the coloured frame on the card-back illustrations helps identify which belongs where.
ReplyDeleteBest -- Paul
Here's a quick list of what fits where.
ReplyDeleteBest -- Paul
== PIPPIN SPACEX 1 ==
= Earth Launch = orange card =
- NASA Glider/Lifting Body
- Apollo Tracker
= Space Exploration = silver-grey card =
- Rescue Craft R6
- Nuclear Ferry
== PIPPIN SPACEX II ==
= Earth Launch = should be orange cards =
- Rocket Transporter
- Crash Tender
= Moon Base = blue card =
- Lama
- Surveyor 2
- Lunar Transporter LT10
- Molab
- Moon Buggy
- LEM Apollo (boxed)
= Space exploration = silver card =
- Lunar Orbiter
- Booster Rocket
- Nuclear Freighter & Salvage Craft
- ATS (Telescope Satellite)
- Photonic Space Station (may have been boxed)
- Soyuz 6 & 7 (may have been boxed)
I never picked up on that colot code bit on the card edges!
ReplyDeleteIt's a very useful detail!
ReplyDeleteDo note that the original Stage 1 vehicles are a bit more haphazardly identified by those frames. Which I think is because they apparently went from four themed series in Stage 1 to only three themed series in Pippin Spacex 1. ("Space Station" and "Outer Space Travel" just became "Space Exploration" by the looks of it).
Best -- Paul