c.1953 Masudaya, No.3 Sparkling Moon Rocket in Original Box
Superb early 1950's friction tin litho No.3 Sparkling Moon Rocket manufactured by Masudaya, Japan. Classic "stubby" design lithoed in mellow tints of white, pale yellow, aqua blue, mandarin red, and lime green. Fantastic toy in near mint condition complete with original box. The attraction of these early rocket toys was the neat streamlined bloated-torpedo shape combined with the innovative lithography. If you were to split the ship down the center horizontally including the pilot, the right half would look identical to the left. Everything was laid out parallel to one another. In addition the surface is perfectly smooth. The only embossing is a small area between the two wheels on the underside. This smoothness and uniformity is important because it makes it appear to be moving fast even when standing still. The exhaust sparks would add to the realism, however it needs a new flint to spark properly. The ship runs on two large rubber rimmed friction wheels in the "belly" center and a third small metal balancing wheel under the exhaust. It has a two piece box with a color print applied to the cover. It shows a simple illustration of the Moon Rocket blasting away from Earth's orbit....past Saturn. Size: 6½". Sold: Mar 2007
Price Sold: $ 336
