Unknown Hard Metallic Plastic Spaceman, Parachute Jumper Figure or Pilot/Operator? No Markings

 

Any help with identifying this guy? Standing on a US quarter for scale with the help of some sticky putty: He wasn't designed to stand at all, maybe a parachute jumper or pilot/operator figure for a larger toy?

Pretty odd how he's looking up. Tried the light from several angles and nope, that's what they meant. Like he's looking up at his chute strings to make sure they aren't tangled?

Yeah that's cool. He's interesting! Will be making use of him as a photographic subject for diorama pix.

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New Mini-Diorama Space Artworks Using 4x4 Inch Craft Boxes, Golden Astronauts & a Random Dinosaur

 

Using 4x4x2 inch craft or hobby boxes for mini space diorama housings. Surfaces are accreted layers of Golden's Crackle Paste, Clear Granular Gel, Glass Bead Gel, Clear Tar Gel and assorted Iridescent Acrylic Colors. "Skies" are mostly Golden's Micaceous Iron Oxide acrylic gel. The rounded forms at lower right are random gobs of Great Stuff Gap & Crack Filler insulation foam that I am transforming into scale sized boulders.

What's underneath the surface of the planet? More of the planet I guess. Figured they'd look stupid hanging there with plain bottoms so I stretched the sculpted acrylic terrain onto the bottoms. It's like the other side of the planet even, and I made sure all stand evenly so they could also be placed on a shelf or tabletop. 

This one sort of made itself. Just happened to have the toy forms out on the table and was like, wait a minute ... A dinosaur, with spacemen. Can do, and this specimens is already promised to a very enthusiastic buyer who called "Baggsies" on it first. Others are in production and I have plenty of dinosaurs & spacemen both. Lots of acrylics. More boxes incoming. 

Keeping the backs bare for the time being. A hanger tab or hook would go got there so it can be displayed on a wall, and you have to enforce a front/back dynamic for that. But they may be painted black at some point, not there yet. 

The tree needs to be fixed to the ground and I'm not sure if those are the right spacemen yet. I'd like the dinosaur to seem like it's towering over them, peering through the branches. I'd also like to have the toy pieces fixed to the ground in some way that allows the owner/viewer to remove them for other adventures, then place them right back where they were until next time. It becomes a playset.

"What's underneath the surface of a planet? More of the planet."

Sat back and laughed. Could not have plotted out the combination better, and just from writing this blog I've decided those Golden Astronauts may have to stay. The allosaurus is contemporary manufacture and so is the tree.

Likely subconscious source of inspiration: Weird War Tales #36, from my favorite comic book series. Knew I'd seen something like it before, and then again there's the whole history of pulp science fiction artwork's juxtaposition of prehistoric creatures against advanced beings. Already making another one and will go back through my comic book covers & pulp scifi artwork discs for other cool ideas. Post-post modernism. 

Multiple Toymaker Packaged Copies of LP Toys 30mm Spaceman Figures (and a Bootleg Thunderbird 5)

The "set" in question. Came bagged with the reproduction header card at upper left in a very modern bag. Twelve ~30mm spaceman figures and a bootlegged Thunderbird 5.

The suspected source of the toy forms, 1970 Multiple Toymakers "Space Case" playset, which also includes a non-wheeled Billy Blastoff space buggy. Unfolds into a space station as shown at lower left.

US quarter for scale. Nice little thing.

No markings.

But it does like something got rubbed out at the mold stage between the 6 and that raised hump.

Here again on the tail at lower, looks like something got scratched out.

Figures are very crudely cast. Shiny waxy plastic, no markings on their base undersides.

For comparison, at right one of the "Space Set" copies, at left figure on the left from a UK cake decoration vendor's set with Hong Kong marking on its base's underside. Notice that the figure on the right doesn't seem to have a pistol, nor do any in that pose from the grouping above, which at first I'd concluded had to be a casting error.

Same sources as above. Figure on the left's pistol is indistinguishable or outright removed. MT/MPC did remove the firearms from their 54mm spacemen in either 1968 or 1969 with a casting change to three figures. The "Space Case" playset these figures are presumed to have been taken from with a 1970 date on it. So these may have undergone some editing prior to being cast. The angular relation of the suit ribbing on their upper thighs is also visibly different.

By contrast these are the four figures obtained from the UK cake decorations vendor. All weapons present.

All four marked Hong Kong, came with a blue lunar module similar to the "Blue Shield" sets.

For further comparison figure at left from the UK cake lady, in white from a different "lot" of vintage plastics. The angular strokes used for the rippling in his space suit different at just about the hip level from the red figure.

Same sources as named above and this time the difference in sculpting is quite noticeable around the hip section. Upper left chest region as well. 

Angular relation of the ripple strokes on the back of their thighs is quite different. Their molds appear to have been created from slightly different models.

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Golden Astronauts: The Willy Wonka Chocolate Bar Prize of Plastic Spacemen, 1968 - 1972 and Other LP Toys Space Figures

 Sorry been away so long, took the summer off and been moving operations from Utica NY back to my family's hometown of Syracuse NY. Now back in quarantine with the 80+ year old parents and let's so some space blogging.

First up: Golden Astronauts.

Click here to open video in a new window for fullscreen viewing option.

Back tomorrow with another, get used to doing this again.