My early days as an astronaut

[dtomko]

My mom unearthed this and sent it to me; it must be from around 1969. Anyone else have this stuff? I can't remember who put it out. I was the height of fashion in those days . . .

Drew

[Initiator001]

Oh, yeah, I remember that stuff.

It was made by Ideal Toy Company and called S.T.A.R. (Space Travel And Reconnaissance).

The gripper arm was called the R.G.D. (Remote Gripping Device).

The gun-like item was called a Nebulizer (I think).

It looks like you had the full set (Helmet, belt with attachments, R.G.D., Nebulizer & shoes).

Pretty neat stuff back then.

I only had the belt and R.G.D. I sold them in the 1980s to a collector. :(


Bob

[tbzep]

I had the helmet and a silver jumpsuit coveralls (sounds more manly) with NASA logos on it. I never saw the shoes or the grabber arm. Is it possible the same helmet was sold as a different outfit at one time?

[tbzep]

http://www.brtb.com/articles/space_ideal.jpg

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I had the helmet and a silver jumpsuit

During your male stripper days? :eek:

[dtomko]

Thanks, Bob and Tim!

Yeah, I think I got the whole package for a birthday; I was pretty psyched. I never did care for the shoes, though :rolleyes:

The belt had a water bottle with a tube you could stick up through the helmet.

Tim, I think the helmet has been recycled several times in slightly different versions.

I remember the yellow top part of the helmet being in my basement for a long time, after a lot of my other stuff got chucked.

Drew

[tbzep]

Thanks, Bob and Tim!

Tim, I think the helmet has been recycled several times in slightly different versions.

I remember the yellow top part of the helmet being in my basement for a long time, after a lot of my other stuff got chucked.

Drew

Mine too. The yellow part was tougher than the white plastic. IIRC, the white plastic had two black pieces of elastic to help hold the whole thing on your head.

[stefanj]

I remember seeing these in stores and catalogs and thinking they were the height of cool.

They were on the Christmas list a few times.

By the time my parents suggested that they might appear under the tree, I was too old. That is, I might still have wanted them, but wearing them where anyone could see me would have gotten me beaten up.

[jflis]

My mom unearthed this and sent it to me; it must be from around 1969. Anyone else have this stuff? I can't remember who put it out. I was the height of fashion in those days . . .

Drew

I had parts of this set too, but I gotta say, my first thought when I looked at the picture was...

"you got beat up a lot as a kid, didn't you?" LOL

I could even imagine you running for your life in those shoes firing your Nebulizer at them the whole time wondering "WHY won't they vaporize! ARGH!"

oh man. I'm sorry, but if EVER there was a picture that needed to be in a Caption Contest, THAT'S the pic... :D

:)

[dtomko]

I had parts of this set too, but I gotta say, my first thought when I looked at the picture was...

"you got beat up a lot as a kid, didn't you?" LOL

I could even imagine you running for your life in those shoes firing your Nebulizer at them the whole time wondering "WHY won't they vaporize! ARGH!"

oh man. I'm sorry, but if EVER there was a picture that needed to be in a Caption Contest, THAT'S the pic... :D

:)

Needless to say, I didn't wear that stuff outside much ;)

So, now you can see why I spent so much of my youth inside building rockets :rolleyes:

BTW, you could barely walk in those shoes, much less run . . .

[tbzep]

Drew,

I'm not sure by the photo, but did yours come with a headset too? Mine had blue plastic earpieces and microphone and the headband was a really soft metal about 1/2" wide, probably aluminum since I don't remember it rusting. Of course, that was at least 35 or more years ago. :rolleyes:

[dtomko]

Tim,

Yep, you can sort of make it out in the photo. I think mine was just like the one you describe. IIRC, the ear pieces slid along the metal band for adjustment. That also stuck around a while after most of the other pieces went.

You know, I can distinctly recall that plastic smell inside the helmet :eek:


Unashamedly proud of my geeky childhood (take that, Jim :D )

Drew