Triang SpaceX - A New Series

This has been one of those projects where ultimately I just got overwhelmed and didn't know where to sart - and with good reason - there were so many toys to photograph and you know I take like a gazillion shots of each toy LOL The project started back in 2011 when I started buying these little gems and I made one lone post back in 2012 but then decided to wait until the collection could be completed. Wellll that sort of didn't hapen exactly but there's more than enough to finally start posting. In retrospect I'm glad I waited because since 2011 Paul Vreede premiered his awesome website on these toys (see below) providing me with more information and inspiration. There's still a few more toys and sets to take photos of but overall most everything is ready.

The concept behind the toys was easy: make space toys cheap enough so that kids of all incomes could afford a little something. The inspiration for all these designs apparently came from a number of sources to include concepts culled from the U.S. space program, comics, etc. A good reference source is Paul Vreede's "Triang SpacEx and Golden Astronaut" site (linked on the right sidebar). Paul has done an amazing amount of research and really, most of what I'll have to offer here in the coming weeks is simply to add more photos to the overall story of these toys.

Another excellent source of material will be the guys over at the Moonbase Central blog  (linked on the right sidebar). Woodsy, Wotan, and Scoop continue to delve into the mysteries of space toys past and present. It was the Moonbase Central blog which inspired me to start Toys and Stuff and which always surprises me with new finds. Thanks to all for your efforts.

Now, on to the toys. These were introduced in 1969 as cheap pocket-money toys and the initial line consisted of 15 blister card sets. Triang was among the larger toy companies in the world and their normal product lines were of much larger items. These micro-toys were somewhat of an afterthought and according to Paul's research, they were never even catalogued. That being said, as an 'afterthought' they sold quite well and production numbers hit the 12 million mark in 1969 alone!

Follower's of the blog know that I've been featuring a lot of Multiple Toymaker's / MPC space toys this past year and it seems Multiple had a role in this story as well. Apparently Triang didn't have an outlet for sales in the United States so they struck an agreement with Muiltiple Toymakers (a division of Miner Industries) to sell the toys here Stateside. They were rebranded under the "Golden Astronaut" label with new artwork and even re-named to suit American tastes. So, there you have it, Triang SpaceX is Golden Astronaut and Golden Astronaut is Triang SpaceX.

I mentioned that the toys were cheap pocket-money fare and cheap they were! Often times the parts didn't fit well, there was noticeable 'flash' (the plastic that oozes out of the mold cavity and hardens into a thin film attached to the toys) on the pieces, some wheels looked like they were re-purposed from cheap N-gauge toy trains, other wheels have an odd ridge running down the center, and parts were easily broken while still in the blister card. In spite of that, the basic overall concept and design of the toys was stellar. They all had an operating feature or two - like firing projectiles, rotating antennas, and opening canopies or hatches. The range of 15 different vehicles or spaceships was larger than many of the toy ranges produced by larger companies like Marx and even Triang itself. 

Sadly, it wouldn't last long. A number of factors led to Triang's downfall and in 1971 they declared bankruptcy and remaining stocks of toys were sold at highly discounted prices. The toys would live on though as re-pops were made using the original tooling and even Miner Industries sold some of these under the "2005 and Beyond" label as late as 1976.

The toys we'll feature are all part of Triang's 'STAGE ONE' which cinsisted of:
EARTH BASE
16 Mobile Launching Pad
1 Tractor T5
2 Fork Lift 7
3 Helicopter P3

SPACE STATION
17 Nuclear Pulse
4 Rocket Ship "Hawk"
5 Supply Force "Mercury"
6 Reconnaissance 2
7 Needle Probe

MOON BASE
18 Moon Base H.Q.
8 Prospector
9 Explorer MEV2
10 Mobile H.Q.
11 Base Patrol "Cricket" P1

OUTER SPACE TRAVEL
12 Rocket "Nova" 1
13 Nuclear Freighter NF 2
14 Space Patrol 1
15 Pleasure Cruiser 1

It must be noted that tracking these toys down has been a challenge. I still don't have the complete EARTH BASE series so I'll post some stand-ins from the Golden Astronaut line and explain the differences between the original SpaceX and the GA counterpart. Enjoy! Opa Fritz