Have seen these around before and something told me the second figure from the left on the bottom row was female. Wish I'd been at Big Lots the day these were uncrated, there's at least two other figure sets, some space ships, and an ingenious "pop-up book" space city for them to inhabit. May have to look into that! Self-stored playset modules are one of the avenues I wish to pursue with my own toy set creations.
Odd blister package with the figures actually sandwiched between two laters of plastic, and behind them a pretty cool little collection of space scenes. Am debating ways to open it without destroying the printing as one can't just split the bottom open & shake them out. Maybe carve a little door for each figure?
Pretty cool score. Three swoppet style figures with two additional toy forms.
Would enjoy knowing what that train logo might indicate. The Made In China text is very interesting as it is the first indication which I have seen that the swoppet spacemen were produced anywhere outside of Hong Kong by Unknowns, Taiwan by Marx (see below) and the UK by Cherilea.
The figures all have somewhat unusual color combinations and wear equipment packs without painted details.
All figures featuring a circular indentation on their pod feet.
"Space Bullet". Looks like it's launched by a puff of air when its accordion base is squeezed downward.
One defaced mold script on the bottom of the Space Bullet launcher. Free Payton Plastics spaceman to anyone who can decipher it.
Fairly common looking form and all I can say about it for certain is that it has nothing to do with Marx Toys production which I am aware of. Can't see underneath as sealed up and am wondering if it might be a friction drive toy as other forms I have seen in this basic configuration were.
My other prized set of sealed swoppet spacemen, this by Betta from their Cake Decor line and referred to as "Space Station Set", with a production date of 1977 on the bottom text. All figures likewise feature circular indentations on their pod feet and their equipment packs are unpainted.
Just for comparison, internet find and not in my collection; Note "Contents Made in Taiwan" at lower right. Marx swopped spacemen are made from a semi-translucent vinyl type plastic, have circular indentations of the bottom of their pod feet, and wear backpacks with painted details.
I'm going to try to start posting an image every day of the diorama setups I'm creating with the figures which have been chosen for painted versions. Think of them as sketches which the painted works will be derived from. Most have a title or narrative construct which they are meant to suggest, and I'll cite which forms are being utilized as a materials list.
"The Siren and Her Tempter", luring heroic space explorers to their ambiguous fate on the barren surface of Cestus IV.
Figures left to right by Lido, Bonux, Marx Toys, and Jean Hoefler.
Space Module by Hing Fat.
Paintings from 2018 - 2019, acrylics and pastel on wood.
Obtained to be opened in the hopes of finding offbeat copies of MPC space figures. Which was the case, though as the video demonstrates limited to only two poses and of very poor quality. Due to the presence of a Gemini-Atlas rocket on the card I'm guessing its age as 1966 - 1968 or so. Pre-Apollo.
60 figures in all, only eight in the Geiger Counter Guy pose and many of the others still bonded together by bits of sprue. Most useful thing to say about them is that Payton modified what had been a sextant in the hand of one figure into what appears to be a flashlight, as seen held by the silver arm at upper right corner.
The more well-known Payton spaceman packaging, and with what looks to be a more diverse selection of (appropriated) MPC poses.
What interested me about finding this is the 1964 date: I'd been wondering when Multiple Toymakers first made their 50mm spacemen available outside of the 1963 Fireball XL5 sets which (if my understanding is correct) first introduced them.
Some of the more intact figures.
Orange figure at center is an MPC original. Note how the Payton dudes flanking him have button-up suits and braided hoses on their Geiger Counters. Just enough of a change to ward off a Cease & Desist from MPC parent company Miner Industries?
The thirteen figures from the sixty in the bag which I'm retaining for my collection including all of the Geiger Counter Guys. Only one yellow is "complete", and indeed only seven of these thirteen are 100% pristine.
Paytons in silver, MPC in gold and blue.
The Payton figures are all about half a notch smaller in proportion to the MPC figures. Not just shorter but smaller overall.
As part of their changes when copying the MPC form Payton gave their Geiger Counter Guy a button up suit. MPC figure's middle vertical feature is smooth.
Note sharpness of MPC gold figure's face in comparison to Payton's in silver. Many of the figures in the bag lacked helmet hoses, though there were no broken bits of hose in the bag. So the mistake happened prior to being sealed up.
One of the few Peyton "Rope and Flashlight" guys to have complete rope coils, though as with the air hoses the bag did not have any of the missing rope remnants.
Flashlight? Kaleidoscope? Drink shaker?
Payton figure's base is also much smoother than the blue MPC figure's base.
