Paramount Hobbies: Sci-Fi at 55 Part II: The Super Six! by Rob C - including the 'Lunar Climber' ASTRO-CAR!

I always considered these six battery-operated space vehicles, produced by KSN Midori, as the “core” of the Paramount SF series, because they are the first kits I saw all grouped together, on a shelf at Shoppers Town Fair in Bridgeport, CT, and because they represented to me the essential spirit of the “first wave” of SF models from Japan. 

I had all six of these beautiful kits at one point or another, and a few, I bought more than once!

3001:300 Solar Ship “Beetle II” (KSN Midori, 1966)

The KSN Midori Solar Ship “Beetle II” was one of the iconic SF vehicle designs of the day. 

With its sleek fuselage, giant cockpit window and enormous wheels, it seemed inspired equally by some NASA concept designs of the time, and old-school pulp-fiction creations from artists such as Ron Paul. 

“Beetle II” was the cousin to the “Beetle I,” i.e. the “Super-Beetle”, aka the “Astro-Car,” discussed below; 

both vehicles featured a giant Beetle as one of the decals, as well as a cool Midori logo. Molded in metallic blue, this motorized model ran well on its large tires, and the spring-loaded missiles fired, making this a real “Action Powered Kit.” 

The model featured a good deal of detail for this type of kit, such as auxiliary missiles, observation dome, ventilator shafts, radar antennae and hinged hatches. I did not save my original Beetle II; the photos shown here are of a more recent build of “Baby Beetle,” a scaled-down version of the original model. 

This design was so popular, it was also issued in an assembled toy version, depicted in the last photograph. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

3002:300 Planet Ship Meteor “2” (KSN Midori, 1967)

Planet Ship Meteor “2” and its cousin, Space Ship Mercury, were first produced in 1967 by KSN Midori. 

What was strange about these two kits is that they were essentially streamlined “propeller boats,” with the motor attached to a large prop in the rear of the craft, enabling it to move on land, on water, and in the air (via an attached string); 

thus the model's original name, “Soil-Sea-Air Craft Meteor.” Although the voluptuous cover illustration made the craft look very “spacey,” I have to confess, I did not buy the Meteor in 1969, as I thought the idea of a “propeller boat in space” kind of dumb; 

it was many years later when I would realize the model's rarity and beauty, and managed to snag one on eBay. The batteries resided in a hinged hatch on the top of the craft, and the decals were adhesive stickers, suitable for use in water. The obligatory spring-loaded missiles were what made the Meteor strictly “SF”. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

3003:300 Mercury Space Ship (KSN Midori, 1967)

Like its cousin, Planet Ship Meteor “2”, the KSN Midori Mercury Space Ship was just a glorified propeller boat done up in snazzy SF style, but the amazing box art really brought the concept to life. 

As opposed to the boxy, boat-like look of the Meteor, the Mercury was a sleek and sublime design, in fact a sort of “flying saucer,” and it was probably quite fun to watch it run on “Land, Sea or Air.” 

The batteries resided in hinged hatches on the top of the craft, on either side of the cockpit, and the decals were adhesive stickers, for use in water. Spring-loaded missiles were apparently an essential feature for the classic SF vehicles of the day. 

Like the Meteor, I did not buy the Mercury in 1969, a decision I deeply regret, but I managed to find one on ebay many years later, shown here in my attempt to paint it as close to the box art prototype as possible. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

3004:300 Space Command Tank “5” (KSN Midori, 1967)

With its boxy, utilitarian look, the KSN Midori Space Comemand Tank “5” may have been the ugly duckling of the Midori “Super Six,” but I loved it to pieces. 

It looked almost plausible as a design concept to me, and the orange-tinted clear pieces (observation dome and pilot cockpit) really enhanced the otherworldly look of the vehicle. 

Even better, there was a little “Mini-Tank” scout craft (powered by a friction motor!) which rested inside Space Command “5”, and was accessible through a large back door-cum-ramp at the tail of the tank. (I always thought this might have been inspired by the door/ramp which let out the International Rescue vehicles on the Thunderbird 2 pods.) 

One of the problems with building this SF tank was that the body consisted of two halves, joined at the center, and the fit was not good at all. On my first try, I did a terrible job cleaning up this seam; 

on my second attempt (shown here), I spent the time to make this unwieldy seam as good as possible. Another disappointment with Space Command “5” were the treads, which would not stay on the wheels when the motor was running; 

I always wondered if I was doing something wrong with these crummy tank treads, or did everyone who bought these Midori space tanks have the same problem? Regardless, the Space Command “5” is about as pretty an SF tank as you can get, and perhaps my fondest memory overall. 

The original decals for Space Command “5” were great, including a very cool logo for something called “Japan Space Command” - unfortunately, the decals on the second Space Command “5” were unusable. Molded in that iconic metallic blue which reminded me so much of the Zero-X. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

3005:350 Astro-Car (Super-Beetle, KSN Midori, 1967)

The Paramount “Astro Car” was undoubtedly the star of the Paramount SF vehicles, due to its magnificent design and curious form of locomotion. 

Originally released by KSN Midori in 1967 as “Super Beetle,” this marvelous space vehicle featured an unusually complicated wheel design (likely borrowed from planetary machine concept designs of the time), wherein each axle of the vehicle supported not two but eight independently rotating wheels. 

That is, in concept – the toy model released by Midori featured static wheels which only rotated via the central axle. 

Not a problem, though - this futuristic battery-operated vehicle crawled along the around in a somewhat “animal-like” fashion, and was able to climb small grades with ease. In this case, since there were no rubber treads on a series of wheels, the vehicle worked quite well. 

The “Super-Beetle” also contained decals similar to its cousin, the Solar Ship “Beetle II,” featuring a giant beetle as a logo, and also a giant Midori brand logo, which I proudly placed on the vehicle. 

This kit was so fun, I bought and built it twice; the photos shown here are from my second build, using a somber flat black paint scheme. (My first build of the “Astro Car” tried unsuccessfully to replicate the cool camouflage depicted in the cover illustration.) Among the excellent design features were a rotating 3-dish radar array, streamlined teardrop headlights, a very cool front grille and a “spare” tire in the back, along with the obligatory spring-fired missiles. 

This design was so popular it spawned at least one pre-assembled toy version, called the “Lunar Climber,” which has become something of a legend in itself. A 2012 issue of “Character Age,” a Japanese model collector's magazine, even featured an article on how to scratch-build Super-Beetle as a radio-controlled vehicle. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.50 USD

[Woodsy adds: see also Century 21 Toys Lunar Climber]

3006:350 Barracuda Hydro Tank (KSN Midori, 1968)

The Barracuda Hydro Tank was the last of the original “Super Six” KSN Midori kits I bought in 1969. 

The cover art was incredible as usual, and the kit inside was somewhat of a disappointment, as usual. Very little detail, and the entire top of the vehicle was one molded piece, including an immovable turret. 

Still, the sleekness of the design appealed to me, and I tried to recreate the medium gray of the box art via off-the-shelf spray paint cans, without much success. 

This “Hydro Tank” really did run in the water, thanks to a battery-operated propeller at the stern of the vehicle, but unfortunately it was one of those models where the rubber treads would fall off the wheels almost immediately; I never got this vehicle to run on land.

 Still, I liked the cool design of this weird SF tank so much, I bought and built it twice. Hard to find pictures of the finished model today, so the second photo is from a Character Age magazine which depicted most of the “first wave” of Japan SF kits. Apparently, KSN Midori also produced another “hydro tank,” the Super Dragon, never released in the U.S. to my knowledge. 

Nichimo made a similar SF vehicle, King Shark, which I bet worked better than the Midori models. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.50 USD

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Rob C

CT

USA