NO VINTAGE SPACE TOYS ARE HARMED IN THE PURSUIT OF MY ARTWORK
My hoard of 35mm Lido Toys Post Cereal Premium Space Figures in a mix of hard and soft plastics, 1952 - 1955? Made for a "One in Every Box" promotion for Post Raisin Bran (later Kellogg's), sponsors of the"Captain Video and his Video Rangers" television show on the Dumont Network.
Yes, it's Meet the Lido's again! My favorite of the early pioneering plastic space toy forms of the early/mid 1950s. Began collecting them after landing a figure or two in a lot buy of ancient spacemen and they stood out by being different. I wanted to learn more and one great place to do so was https://alphadrome.net which has an extensive online library of space toy forms from around the world. The other world class reference I discovered was https://ToySoldierHQ.com and its ongoing quest to chronicle every last plastic playset figure ever produced, anywhere. He'll do it, and you can see their visual guide to the history of lido toys here.
More of my Captain Video bling including one of the eye-popping space port wall panels printed by T. Cohn Superior. Videos linked below show more of it and be sure to check prior posts for additional coverage.
There is something special about the Lido line, many things in fact, starting with an immediacy of form to how the figures were modeled & sculpted. Put bluntly they look like something I might have painted with my admittedly limited skill set. They are easily the most cartoonish of the early vintage spacemen and I say that with all due seriousness. Cartoons and comics rule, there's lots to learn from them about the human form, character design and how to simplify outlines down. Marx and MPC went for representational forms. Lido went berzerk.
This update inspired by our new guy here on the US quarter for scale. Of the Gas Mask Alien variety in nukeslime green hard plastic, though that could be a guy under there too. He's fairly common in larger 52mm playset varieties but it took a couple years to bring this one home.
Something about his stance makes me think about Peter Gabriel from his Genesis flowerman mask era, so let's go with that for some reading music here. Early Genesis demo with a manic energy fitting of the figure line's cavorting movement. Apologies for any forced ads which may accompany the playback!
"Going Out To Get You", 1969
My other "Gas Mask Alien" figures in standard 52mnn, the gold one a traffic stopper. Luck of the draw that the others all ended up nuclear waste green.
Figure to the left in soft plastic, the other two hard plastic and all have withstood the Sands of Time. Here we are eyeing how the sculpting was modified when sizing the figure down. Wondering about the briefs too - Maybe he's supposed to be some Aquaman wearing a rebreather rather than a gas mask?
Those look like swim trunks ... ?? Any opinions sound off using the messaging system, no need to sign in to Google to comment.
The four Lido figures here seen with a yellow one made by competing company Plasticraft around the same time (1952 - 1955?). Same stance, breathing hose and holding a very similar looking device. Suggesting not only that the same artist may have designed figures for both companies. It also suggests that may be a human under the breathing mask after all.
The T. Cohn Superior Space Port playset using standard 50mm hard plastic versions of the figures, plus other mayhem. Image shared up by fellow collector Steve Rhea on a plastic figures FB group we both frequent. A spaceport playset sits in the Smithsonian somewhere, and the series has the distinction of being an entirely all American toy line next to all those farmed out for production overseas.
Lido's Captain Video figure line originated in 1952. Presumption is that the hard plastic specimens were made before switching to the soft plastic, invented in 1954. By 1955 the show went off the air and the line soon discontinued. Lido went under in 1965 and all of the space toy molds were melted down when their factory was liquidated. There will never be any more, the finality of which always impresses me.
LIDO painting from 2020, 24x36 inches mostly pastel with acrylic wash on a canvas board, left unfinished. Using a larger Lido 90mm Futureman figure as an outline source and doing the Larry Rivers thing with it. Worked on it with Mom, who remembered a Lido Beach on Long Island near where she grew up. Have always wondered if the Lido Toy company had any relation to Lido Beach.
The Futureman figure itself remains unpainted and free of any damage. Need to do a show of my quarantine art. We rocked that dining room table.
Back to our 35mm Post Cereal figures, here showing one of each of 12 poses arranged on what I like to call the Bleacher in front of the Adirondack rock I call the Asteroid.
ToySoldierHQ's visual guide to the 35mm figure line and some box artwork there. I should note this promotion & figure group was different than the ones seen in the "Meet the Lido's" video, which shows box art for a soft plastic 50mm version of the figures made after the Captain Video show had gone off the air. Only five episodes of the series survived, not counting two held by UCLA's media library not available to the public. Boo.
One each of the twelve poses.
Just realizing I did not think to show their backs ... My favorite of them all is the brown figure at upper right with the marbled color swirls. Something about his sculpting is just different.
Proper. I can take pictures of these guys all day.
The entire mob of Lido 35mm figures from my hoard, Always looking for more: Now we find the alternate colors or plastic types.
Keep an eye on the lavender guy with the broken at far right middle while I put most of these away.
I had the temerity to paint one for a space box artwork. Chosen from what I call the Broken Gun Squad of figures whose weaponry were damaged before coming into my stewardship. I only mess with the broken ones.
Looks like a rugby goalie but I have a thing about orange space suits. Like Luke Skywalker from the end of Star Wars there in his X-Wing pilot costume.
Original plastic color on foot bottom and eye slot. I try to always include a patch of the original plastic color, usually the face. So I left his eye slit yellow, like he's glowing on the inside with some sort of atomic energy barely contained in the space armor.
Cool. Looks like Dynaman from Japanese television, ready to inject patients with hypodermic guns. Up there on their asteroid.
Three figures from the 35mm segment were also produced as a more hard to find 54mm figure group, five of which are seen above their 35mm counterparts.
ToySoldierHQ's visual guide to three Lido's 54mm space figure segment. They would ship with transparent plastic helmets like the one seen on The Dude.
This one reminds me of my college roommate Case, all tanked up and looking for trouble down at Hungry Charley's. Except he'd be carrying a pitcher of beer, and trouble wore heels & nylons.
Figures at center are the same pose. The other two are different but do match another 54mm figure seen in the T. Cohn playset shown towards the top of this post. We'll find one.
The Dude poses. Have also referred to them as Major Tom.
The Dude
There's a view from the back. What's he breathing? In 1952 there were no space suits with oxygen packs.
Very primitive sculpting, but if he has his helmet on what the face looks like isn't a problem. No clue if the helmet is correct for the figure line, or Lido at all. Comment below if you can shed light.
Lido Baton Robots always steal the show. Up there on that asteroid or whatever. Blue and yellow figures are hard plastic, brown and green soft.
My favorite is the brown one at far left.
Some more of my original YouTube content below related to Lido's space toy lines including the fabulous Space Train vehicles. Will paste in links to open the videos in new windows for fullscreen playback option after cutting the lawn.
Standard Rickroll. Will disguise it after finishing the lawn.
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