"Space Bucket Astronauts" is a term I coined for my own reference to the ubiquitous "Made In China" space adventure sets we all had as kids. Their spacemen are somewhat porky compared to the bean-pole lean Marx look, usually are cast in either white or gray at 2.25", are issued with distinctive looking yet simplified Lunar Lander and Lunar Rover toys, more recently with Space Shuttle forms and a few rockets. Maybe some sculpted terrain or a decorated playmat, the same US flag with plastic stone base that's basically in every toy solder set ever made, and all of it conveniently packed into a bucket or handle-carry storage case.
Some video.
Had it as a kid and remain fascinated by them from the compounded pretzel of a mystery about who, when, and where the forms originated from. Who first designed these things? Most common answer is a toy company called Hing Fat, which in its current form is based out of Hong Kong with production plants on mainland China and its company website states it has been in business since 1980. Which is great, but I was born in 1967 and would have had my Space Bucket set round about 1973. So, it wasn't that Hing Fat, or perhaps Hing Fat as a different organization as vintage examples of Space Toy product from the 1970s is clearly labeled as Hing Fat product.
I call this the "Rope and Triangle" pose, and all of the angles on their triangles are slightly different. The larger guy is made from a softer vinyl like plastic with hand painted features, marked "Made In China" on the base, and instinct suggests he is one of the original visions for the form, later scaled down into a lower cost production version for the Space Bucket sets. The larger guy was one of three likewise, and all came in a "Lot" purchase which included 1950s spaceman forms by Archer and Ajax from a vendor specializing in Estate Sale merchandise. None of which means a whole bunch except that whoever had owned them knew their spacemen, and I have never seen anything like them anywhere else to date. Looked high and low.
The Rope & Triangle guys now joined by another second from left by Boley Toys and datestamped on his back to 1988. He is also more complex than the others with sharply sculpted features of different proportions to the rest and equipped with a removable backpack. But in the same Rope & Triangle pose.
Never heard of a blue Space Bucket astronaut before -- Obtained from a toy soldier vendor located in France who could not recall how he had obtained it.
No markings anywhere.
Compared with the Boley guy, and one can see clearly how the sculpting of the two is very different. One is not a clone of the other.
I wish I'd thought to include a marked Marx spaceman in the Rope & Triangle pose so here he is at far left. One can see even in this crap of a pix how his form is of totally different proportion to the Space Bucket guys (and the Boley dude, for what it's worth.) The Marx guy is also wearing a diver tank setup rather than a squared PLSS type backpack.
My entire 2nd hand Space Bucket set along with a few Marx and a Timmee guy to demonstrate how the Space Bucket guys are not clones.
Playmat by "Awesome Kids", who likely packaged the playset this was issued with under license by whomever made the plastics.
Hing Fat's website is for dealer reference rather than an online store and has no historical notes about its toy sets or where they got the moulds. One can likely presume they are theirs, and perhaps license the toys out for repackaging by other companies in addition to making their own Space Buckets like above.
Your typical Space Bucket set uncrated. I like those rockets at back, wish I could score a couple on their own.
A packaging of Marx style Hong Kong astronaut poses with Hing Fat on the header card. No date, vendor had it offered as "1970s Vintage". No vehicles present.
The simplistic Lunar Rover, with driver/pilot spaceman forms left to right by Marx from "Operation Moonbase", two white Space Bucket guys, a Made in Hong Kong Marx clone, and one by Boley from the same set as the guy shown above.
Corporate image of just the rover. We all had one.
I must profess a particular fondness for the Lunar Lander with its triangular shape to the ascent stage. There's also no door or ladder. You can stick a guy inside of it, but the lack of access suggests it might even be a robotic form.
My legion of Broken Armed Astronauts. All the same pose, all snapped at the same spot on their right arm.
Dancing Astronauts.
My first attempt at a painted spaceman, using one which had its wrench broken off. I used paint pens and was thinking of Russian Cosmonauts. In application:
Cosmonaut on the Moon, with space painting from 2018.
Cosmonaut on Venus, with Space Painting from 2018.
Now as a character from my "Charlie ..." series of misbegotten astronauts who get into all sorts of trouble. Voices spoken in thick Brooklynite accents.
"Hey, va-va-va voom, Ralph! Whaddiya know! It's glowin' .... Hey! it feels warm too ..."
"... Charlie, Charlie I don't think we should be messin' wid dat, Charlie. I mean, it's here in outer space, and we don't know what it does ..."
"Nah, nah, nah, relax Ralphie! I knows what I'm doing, I'll just ..." FFZZZZZZT.
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