The blog legend that is the Moonship: There was a time in the mid-1990's when, together with Chris Avis, my Project SWORD toy 'finder', that we thought we'd found a Century 21 Toys Moonship.
At that time, circa 1996, neither of us had ever seen one, it's existence only hinted at from a snippet of information from a 1969 toy trade journal courtesy of current blog reader and contributor Will O, whom I've known for years.
Chris A went on to find a tin Moonship and for all intents and purposes it was the Century 21 toy to us for a while, until fresh information came again from Will O. This time it was with a picture of the Moonship, which was clearly made of plastic and not tin! My own tin Moonship, pictured, was as it turned out, a Chinese Kang Yuan.
I went on to make a box for my tin Chinese Moonship and the green American plastic Moonship, the AHI Super Rocket Plane, using small templates printed in the book Future Toys.
Even though a Century 21 Toys Moonship had been seen, I still hadn't seen it's box at that point.
Somewhere I have the letter from Chris A. offering me a loose tinplate Chinese Moonship, which I still have in a home-made box. Before Ebay came along in the UK, in 2000, we used to swap toys and a bit of cash made up the difference. Those were very happy pre-internet years for collectors like me.
And so to now, when we know so much more.
The latest owner of a tin Chinese Kang Yuan Moonship is Helsinki Base reader and contributor Arto, who has acquired a mint example towards the end of last year.
We come full circle, as Arto's ship is boxed!
I'll let Arto take up the story himself.
"it was from Antico Mondo in Köln, an original boxed Kang Yuan Moonship! A long story with a happy ending! Earlier this year, I bid on an original Moonship box which came up on Antico and I lost! Then, in the last auction, a Moonship with original box came on offer with a high ( Woodsy edit) starting price. I did not leave a bid. Upon checking the results, I found out it was left unsold! I immediately contacted the auction house and asked to buy it and they were happy to agree! So now the wait of almost two decades is over! A great conclusion for my best-ever collecting year!"
Arto continues
"I bought a loose Kang Yuan Moonship already some 15 years ago, so now I have two! But it needs all those fabulous box graphics by its side to display it in all its glory.
Researching the Moonship a bit more, I landed on this interesting website
Which states that no factory name nor place (usually Shanghai) was printed on the toys or their boxes after 1958. Which would date this boxed Moonship version into the 1950's. Compare it with the other known box version which has © 1965 and word FOREIGN on the box - was that version meant for export only, and what's the reason for changing the box? A new distributor perhaps? There is also a considerable time gap between the pre-1958 and 1965 issues, so was there a gap in production as well? Intriguing!"
The other tinplate Moonship in Arto's fabulous collection is Soviet, the Lunnyij korablj LK-1
Arto has found two websites with info about it.
You can also find more Moonship posts here by clicking on the label below.
Do you have a Moonship readers?
Whilst I'm loving the Moonship toy, the design on the fabulous box art looks even better.
ReplyDeleteMore sleek and futuristic.
I agree Mish, the box art is fabulous and slicker than the toy itself. There is another Chinese box and I think that's the same.
DeleteI still cant get excited by tin toys, really but some of the box artwork is gorgeous. The russian variants of the basic design are nice too. I cant escape the notion that the moonship is essentially an airliner with the wings removed though! Bill
ReplyDeleteYep, it probably is. A stripped Fireflash!
DeleteThe Chinese Moonship is one of those astounding toys which really defines an era, and with its original box, a cultural artifact almost too good to be true. I personally like the disparity between the toy and the box illustration, as that seemed to be a grand tradition among Asian toymakers. As a kid, I was originally confused, and then angered, by the vast difference between the concept (box art) of a toy and its execution (the toy itself). But I eventually understood that this was just clever marketing, and learned to love the various styles depicted in both. An era we will never see again. SFZ
ReplyDeleteThe imperfection of art yes, I guess SF. Great insights!
DeleteWith regard to the plastic moon ship , I remember asking John Churchwsrd about it many years ago (John was the repair guy for century 21 toys) and he said that he had never seen one…only the tin version. Will O
ReplyDeleteAmazing Will. It must have been scarce even within Century 21. On that basis I bet he'd never seen a Lunar Climber! There's only one known! Did you chat to him long?
DeleteIt was a long time ago! I remember talking to him on the phone, but what we talked about I can’t really remember. I did ask him about the moon base set and he said he’d never seen that either. He worked for century 21 toys as a repair man . As far as I remember, he said that they sent him all the faulty toys , he repaired what he could and sent them back , and the rest he kept and when he retired he sold them off at various places , including toy fairs in the early days. Will O
ReplyDeleteAmazing Will. What a great memory. I wonder what John repaired? Wheels? Windows? Battery units? You have to wonder if he could keep up. There must have been loads of defective toys, as they were mass produced in Hong Kong.
DeleteJohn Churchwood's daughter stood at toy fairs too I understand Will selling old C21 toys. A family business!
ReplyDelete