K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Figures

I shot them twice! Again, I had up to four of most poses, with a few pairs and some threes, so the figures of two sets had been left in the tin, I think you should have two of each, but some of the sets on sale seem to have one of each, so I'm not sure, and maybe the numbers were reduced for budgetary reasons as the 1960's gave way to the 1970's?

 

Fuellers or firefighters?

 

Ground-crew and mechanics.

 

The people who get paid the proper money!

 

Stupidly, I failed to do the comparison shot with the other Marx 50mm space and the Deluxe Reading chaps, despite buying a handful of the former, in metallic blue, and one of the latter, specifically to do so! They are all in storage now, with this set. In the meantime I thought "Oh, Brian sent us some?", but I can't find them in the folders, so I think they did get blogged? It means we'll have a good comparison post another day, as there are lots to compare, what with the re-issues, Thomas orange ones and two base-types for the Marx!

 

The pointing astronaut is also made in 54mm, and with the Mystery Space Ship in 35mm

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2014/04/n-is-for-no-mystery.html

K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Trucks

A brief look at the trucks in my Carry All Action Cape Kennedy Play Set, there were four cab-units and five trailers, I think there should be three different trailers and three identical cabs, so obviously the contents of more than one set, plus a piece which is a bit of a mystery!

 

High-pressure liquid something?

It can't be 'rocket fuel' because that's the next one down!

"Honest Kev's Scaffolding Co."?

 

The rocket-fuel tanker, it's marked 'ROCKET FUEL'!

 

The rocket transporter, the rocket just sort of sits there, it's not held-in firmly, and you get the feeling it (the trailer) was a bit of a rush-job, or afterthought? Cab is similar to my Aurora tanker kit (although 'kit' is doing the simplified, almost clip-together too much justice!), so a future comparison with other similar types is on the cards! Scale is about 1:70, or bigger, and they are simple 'readymade' style models; right up my street!

 

This was also in the tin? I don't think it belongs in the tin, I don't think it's even Marx, in fact, I think it might be a ladder from a carpet/beach-toy fire engine, but I don't know, and any clues will be gratefully received, but it is the same colour and type of polypropylene, that the vehicles are made of; which is the same plastic as the return-module, so it could be another, contemporaneous, Marx piece?

K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Rocket Gantry

Continuing to look at the contents of the Carry All Action Cape Kennedy Play Set, from the mighty Louis Marx Toy Co., we get to the important bit, the launch tower, there were the bits of two towers, in the tin, but only enough pieces for one working tower, and by 'working' I mean the gantry slides back and forth, the spring-mechanism for firing the missiles is missing, and will have to be searched for.

 

First, though, the flag! Did Marx ever issue a play set without a flag (or flags!)? The Cavemen sets, maybe, the Troll villages, Disney . . . OK, there were lots of sets with no flag! But it was a feature of many and there are variations, this is the common one, two-part plastic, the base an earth-pile, with a slip-on tin-plate National Standard.

 

The full construction with the main gantry pushed back to its start position.

 

The main components of the tower and base.

 

The launching spigot, which is clearly missing a spring or something?

 

Rocket in-situ, with the gantry slid forward.

 

For a toy, under the tree at Christmas, this is a fine thing, isn't it? More representative of what NASA was doing on the TV news night-in, night-out as the Apollo launches drew near, and more realistic than the earlier sets from MPC, Deluxe/Topper, or Marx themselves?

K is for Kennedy Space Centre - Case

I picked this up in September, and while it's not complete, there's enough for a few posts, and I guess you start with the biscuit tin! The Marx 50mm figures; Carry All Action Cape Kennedy Play Set, of which there are several versions (this is 4625), and I wouldn't pretend to be an expert on any of them!

 

I'm guessing from the full colour, photo-artwork that it was a later set, and if the entire contents are in the picture, then I seem to have got most of the contents of two sets, less one or two important bits, which I'll mention as we go through them, but I also got an extra piece?

 

One item which was missing from the box, was the return-module, but we saw one here;

 

https://smallscaleworld.blogspot.com/2023/08/c-is-for-constellation-of-capsules.html

 

And, it's the correct red-hot steel colour, so that box is ticked!

 

 It's basically a colourful kid's briefcase!

 

I suspect this is a highlight, an undamaged vacform of the NASA 'Guided Missile Centre' offices, riveted into one end of the case. Assuming they can get damaged with age and play wear, but it's not like these sets are particularly rare, there were several on feeBay, when I was trying to work out my contents.

 

The two hinged sections which allow for the closing of the case are printed-up as double wire-gates, and connected with a roadway, which makes-up the spine of the case. I need to re-wire one of the hinges, as the piece is loose, and will need a new wire-rod, run down the hinge-loops.

 

The whole base, with plenty of room for the activities of the contents!

 

Ed's is complete!

https://toyconnect.blogspot.com/2012/06/marx-4625-action-cape-kennedy-carry-all.html