birthday dossier: flip-over moon cars and their recycled parts

Flip-over moon cars and buggies were a popular toy design and many variations were released by toy companies looking for a new winner in the Sixties and Seventies.

2011 Observations:

In 2011 Bill B posted his observations about these toys on MB [I've edited a little].

The flip-over Moon Climber or hill-climbing Moon Buggy was a neat little vehicle which incorporated a simple mechanism which allowed it to keep rolling even if it hit an obstacle which made it roll over. 

The big rubber tyres helped it climb over stuff and when gravity made the vehicle flip, the clever roll bar ensured it righted itself immediately and carried on rolling. 

The basic idea had been used before in cars, but the space fever of the period resulted in many different versions of the toy. 

The main manufacturer seemed to be an anonymous company with a logo consisting of the letters 'TW' in a diamond shape as seen on this Tank climber........

...... although the smaller boxed versions, Moon Rover and Moon Patrol, below were produced by brand 'AA'. 

Some of the larger versions featured elements that we have seen on other toys. 

This grey Space Explorer, below left, has a switch on the back very similar to the silver one seen on the Century 21 Toys Project SWORD Space Glider shown below but one, left.

The yellow version above right, most likely Century 21 Toys' own entry - the Continuous Action Traveller, has what looks like a small Imperial Toys Apollo Moon Exploring silver LEM [pictured below, centre] on its back. 

Indeed the wheels of most of the versions are remarkably similar to the wheels on the mini LP Moon Prospector as shown above left.

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2017 Update:

As Bill said there are many versions of this toy and here are a few more:

Above are three versions of the long-titled Hill Climbing Rollover Moon Prober by Solpa of Greece and below are three more of these Solpas as well as other brands.

Solpa Space 1999

Solpa No.10

Solpa Space Explorer 16

Flip-Over T21 Car and blue car

As mentioned above, Century 21 Toys released their own version, the Continuous Action Traveller.

Below is the box from different angles [note the Dyna-Soar in the illustration three pics down].

The AA branded toy in this particular box appears to be different from that pictured on the boxart.

I believe the correct toy to be this loose yellow model, which displays all the features pictured on the C21 box including the blue whole wheels, silver LEM, silver tanks and red engine plate.

This should not be confused with this very similar yellow toy issued by Solpa of Greece,  one of their the Hill Climbing Rollover Moon Prober range.

Sadly I only have a photograph of one half of this toy. However, the similarities - yellow colouring, silver LEM and red engine plate are clear to see. So are the differences - blue tanks and pierced red wheels.

Solpa also lifted some Century 21 Toys box art - battery instructions to be exact - for their own as you can see below. I do not think it was the other way round.

Solpa box

Century 21 Toys box

Solpa's knockoffing points to a much deeper recycling of toys on the Continuous Action Traveller, which Bill picked up on in 2011.

To  update the list of recycled parts I can now add my own new observation, the source of the red engine plate.

Originally I think it was inspired by the gold plastic base plate of the Revell Space capsule kit shown below top left.

I think it then became the red rear engine plate of the Apollo Rocket pictured below bottom left, which we have already seen is linked to the Century 21 Project SWORD Probe Force 2 anyway.

Finally this same red plate ended up on the back of the Continuous Action Traveller, which lights up when the toy is switched on as seen below top abd bottom right.

So that's it for now. If you spot any more recycled parts then please do let me know.