c.1955 Alps, Coney Island Rocket Ride In Original Box
Fabulous battery operated Coney Island Rocket Ride manufactured by Alps (Shioji), Japan. All lithographed tinplate in incredible near mint condition! Rare toy comes complete with its even rarer original box. The box has all four original inserts, its original extra O-ring and extra armature connector in factory sealed bag, plus three additional unused O-rings. Best of all it works great! The toy is finished in seafoam green, red, yellow, blue and white. Rockets, stars, suns, moons, and planets are lithoed around an upright center column resting on three retractable legs. The bottom end of the column opens to hold the 2 D-cell batteries and screws closed with a chrome plated metal cap. The motor is housed on one of the column sides. An axle passing through the housing continuously rings a nickel plated bell. The toy has a separately attached armature (cross support) lithoed with riveted girders. A red and blue rocket on each end of the armature rotates clockwise as the rockets shift in partial rotation through donut-like metal rings. Simultaneously, green and red lights on the nose of each rocket flash on and off. All the while, the entire armature is brought to a horizontal position and then back to vertical. All of this happens at the same time; lights, bell, rotation, up, down, etc. The beautiful full color box is illustrated with an amusement park setting which features the Coney Island ride in the center. Assembly and battery insertion schematics were printed on the side aprons. It has both original pressed cardboard inserts fixed to inside bottom, plus its two original rocket tube protectors. It also has its original extra O-ring and red plastic armature connector still inside a factory sealed bag stapled to the inside wall of the box bottom. It also comes with three more unused O-rings (two black and one red). I'm not sure, but the red ring may be an internal belt of some type. One of the most important aspects of this toy is the presence of its original red plastic armature connector. This is the small red plastic bead which screws the armature and motor column together. Because of its size and function, it is almost always lost, broken, or replaced. Amazingly, in this case it has two original connectors! The toy is actually a rare variation based on the scarce Alps Twirly Whirly Rocket Ride with subtle, yet recognizable differences. Both variations in near mint condition were sold in December, 2000 by Sotheby's as part of the Griffith Robot collection. The Coney Island ride sold for over twice the hammer price of the Twirly Whirly Rocket Ride. Size: 16" height. Date Sold: Sept. 2009
Price Sold: $ 1550
