space.trucks Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 Yeah I did. One Holy Grail item in the bag, or twelve of them. Will get new shoes later in May. Need to have them brought on by a nightmare about being the guy in the larger moonsuit & not knowing how to take the damn thing off. But seeing myself from the outside running around with these spindly little legs. Like Mr. Peanut, only creepier. Got a few others in as well, will try to keep the Newbie Fever at bay and avoid megaposts. All thoughts welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted April 25, 2019 Share Posted April 25, 2019 I absolutely love the moon suits. Is the one detachable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space.trucks Posted April 25, 2019 Author Share Posted April 25, 2019 Affirmative, Captain. Let's do the whole Forensic Study thing. Guy on the right is the most impeccably sculpted spaceman form I've yet encountered. Whoever did the artistry had a thorough understanding of anatomy + a gift for depicting the human form which I am in envy of. I can visualize the model standing there while he/she first did study drawings and then sculpted from either clay or wax. Most of the spacemen forms I've seen are fairly anonymous but these two are based on individuals who posed for the likeness. Looks like Dwight Eisenhower. Yeah that's just insane. Wow. I'm sorry to keep referring to him but they both have that Mr. Peanut thing going on. The way Mr. Peanut moved on the old commercials always creeped me out as a kid. Probably came to mind while ogling them online and thinking about the form. Diving Bells are what come to mind most, I recall they used some in "Warlords of the Deep" with Vincent Price. Thinking of other forms they remind me of Daleks came to mind, and both Vincent & Maximillian from "The Black Hole". I recall the Hard Suit concept also turning up in some Soviet era space films I've got somewhere, will see if I can get a screen grab. Already quietly on the hunt for a Matt Mason figure with Moon Suit and I think I want it to be Sgt. Storm (had both as a kid but no moon suit just sleds, and the inflatable tent lol). Defo the coolest individual spacemen in my collection. I love em all but these two are special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Thanks for the forensic study. I didn't realize that they were both detachable. The one blends into the spaceman quite well. As I said before, I love these bulky space suit designs. I'm trying to imagine Neil trying to exit the lunar module in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golddalek Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 pretty coOL...Looks like the Russian Space suit they were experimenting with in 1965. 👀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space.trucks Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 Nicked from an auction listing for the magazine: Life, April 1962, looks like he just walked out of a Major Matt Mason ad. Same neo-moderne helmet design and articulation ribbing for the legs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space.trucks Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Same place, different listing. Described as a 1967 publication. Has the fishtank look of the other suit. Huh ... Minus the antenna array, rock hammer and dinky little toolbox that's almost the same pose. Now I want to read that book & the magazine article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golddalek Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 Yes, I watched a video on the Russian version. Very interesting suit. I need to read up about these designs sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6Stelab9 Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 this suit inspired some robot design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space.trucks Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Very cool!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejpetrie Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 If I remember correctly, the suit with the smooth top was called the "Republic Suit", while the other with the bumps on its top surface was called a "Stafford Suit". These figures were introduced in Marx's "Operation Moon Base" set of the early 1960's and would appear in a few other of the firm's sets of similar type over the next few years. Sculpting for these figures was done by one of the sculptors at Ferriot Brothers of Chicago, the principal mold makers for the postwar concerns of Marx, Ideal, Thomas Toy, Auburn Rubber, Andy Gard, Gay Toys and others. (It is also believed that they may have designed and produced the molds for the Buck Rogers lead figures of the late 1930's that were marketed by another Chicago "toy" maker--if you can call molten lead a toy--called The Rapaport Brothers Company.) The outfit's main sculptor was Joseph Ferriot, but the firm often used freelancers if the workload demanded it. These freelance artists had to be skillful enough to provide quality works and knowledgeable enough about the molding business to only do figures in poses that could be accomplished without too much "undercutting" or requiring that the figure be molded in multiple pieces and then assembled. Today Ferriot Brothers still exists, still thriving due to their specializing in producing molds for plastic computer cabinetry. They turned out more of the best toy products than any other outfit in the country. Oh, and space.trucks...I hope the whole "new shoes in May" thing worked out for you. I agree with you that it was worth the wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ervino Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 In the '60 the Italian Baravelli produced a "bootleg" version of these Marx astronauts, in white plastic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
space.trucks Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 Thank you for the look! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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