The Moon Suit and Seaview

Hi Woodsy,

I have been reading a book on Irwin Allen Collectibles, by John Buss (Amberley Publishing, 2023). The book covers all four Irwin Allen TV shows from the 1960s – Land of the Giants, Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; and the various books, toys, kits, View-Master reels, etc, produced at the time.

The chapter on Voyage shows the covers of all 16 Gold Key comic books (there were 16 issues based on the TV series, including a couple of re-prints) released between 1964 and 1970. Issue 4, May 1966, carried a story called Robinson Crusoe of the Depths – The Seaview becomes a helpless toy in the hands of an undersea giant !

The cover of this shows divers in some rather odd – but familiar- suits. These look like an upside-down flower pot, and I thought instantly of the Moon Suit that has appeared several times on Moonbase Central.

Three divers are shown on the cover, in red, yellow, and blue suits, as the submarine Seaview does battle with the giant. They have simply been switched from the Moon, to beneath the sea.

These suits were originally a serious design for a Lunar exploration suit, by engineer Allyn B. Hazard. It was soon used as the basis for several toys – including the Major Matt Mason Moon Suit in the 1960s.

More recently, the Monarch Model Company Inc., of Canada, released a 1/10th scale kit of the suit, in 2024. With a new colour scheme, this could be added to a collection of Seaview models.

Four photographs from Ebay and Worthpoint

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Have you a moon suit?

 

Here are the rest of the Hazard Moon Suit photos.  I was surprised to see these turned in to diving suits on the cover of a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea comic. You never know where a design will appear!