Posted 6 years ago
Toyrebel
(215 items)
I just picked up this Mystery Space Ship made by Marx in the early 60's. I had one of these, in fact I had 2. I got another on later on to replace the original I wore out.
It's basically a hand cranked flywheel inside that demonstrates gyroscopic principles. The instruction sheet says it can reach 4000 rpm! The force it has is impressive. I had small string pulled gyroscopes, but the flywheel size and rpm really demonstrates the force it has. It came with all 9 astronauts still sealed and most still on the sprue. All of the 9 aliens are present also. It's has the rocket launcher and 3 rockets which ate often missing.
The instruction sheet has info on gyroscopes and experiments/demonstrations. It's an excellent educational toy with great play value. My first Mystery Ship came in a green color like the "moon" base and gimbal. This seems to be rarer than the yellow color like this one and the 2nd ship I had. Maybe early production? I've also seen a white ship with gold/bronze pivots instead of the red like this one has. It has completely different box art, it has to be a later issue.
I remember my aunt and cousin about my age coming to visit on the 60's. They were from the country, I doubt if they had ever seen a gyroscope before, they were amazed at this thing! I guess they thought it was magic!
Watch out for those anal probes.
Veeeerrrrry ! kooL
Remember the truth is out There !
We are not alone Vinyl.
I really like those cool space aliens.
Thank you Apache, I loved the aliens as a kid. The four-armed one is so cool, I call him "Quad". The fact this had all the aliens was a buying point. The instructions lists them as "moonmen".