MAJOR CUSTOMISATIONS

I have always loved Mattels Major Matt Mason line, as it was the pinnacle of space toy heaven in the sixties, he had it all - space crawler, space base, alien buddies, cool suits, equipment - everything an astronaut could want. When I finally got the Space Station set a year ago, I was so thrilled, it was like xmas 1968 all over again. As a result, I started to pick up some loose pieces to fill gaps in my collection and replace damaged items from my childhood. In the process of this, I also looked at ways of expanding the line a little, with items which had never been addressed originally.

One idea I had was the Rocket Supply Pod, a means to transport equipment and supplies to restock the Space Station, by means of an automatic delivery pod. Lanards Space Force provided the basis, in the form of a two seater space capsule. Taking out the interior, I made a cargo bay and then fitted it out with folding landing gear from an early years space craft. The original flashing lights were left in, but the sound chip disabled. Its just a nice size to accept a pair of Lanard space suitcases as cargo too!

 

While buying a spare Moonsuit, a few other items in the same lot provided a silver Gilbert James Bond Sea Scooter, minus its accessories. I used this in conjunction with an Action Man ATOM figure stealth wing, to make the Astro Orbiter! Obviously an aerodynamic wing wouldn’t function on the moon, but perhaps future missions might take place on Mars, or it would allow short jaunts in space between a station and a rocket.

My original Moon Suit lost its rubber arms to fatigue and rot, but the spare one I bought was fitted with new plastic articulated arms, courtesy of a ball jointed mini pod for a camera and a pair of LEGO grippers. A new vinyl numeral changed the designation from 3 to 8 to complete the look.

Not a custom as such, more an appropriation, the recent Disney Pixar film, ‘Lightyear’ brought some wonderful toys again from Mattel. One of these was the Plasma Drill Platform, which is reminiscent of the Supernaut Power Limbs in style and colour and fits Matt at a pinch.

Finally another work in progress, a very early Playmobil dump truck has cool hemispherical wheels and a nice chunky engine block. It just needs a proper seat and some control for Matt! Watch this space for further developments!