The space race was one of the most exciting things we Boomers remember from our youth. Charismatic President Kennedy said we were going to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960's decade! And we thought we could do it!
We kids were as excited as our parents. We loved hearing the beeps whenever Mission Control would communicate with the astronauts. We loved spacewalks, liftoffs, splashdowns, all aspects of the space program.
Mattel took the hint, and in 1967, in time for Christmas, introduced Major Matt Mason.
Originally, the toy was intended to showcase actual vehicles that NASA was designing. Soon, though, more fanciful modes of transportation were offered.
The toy was a huge hit, and its popularity matched that of the space program itself. That would prove to be fateful.
Mason himself was a little guy, smaller than GI Joe, But that was okay. GI Joe didn't have a Space Station. Joe's ultimate accessory was the Space Capsule. While it was mighty impressive, it just came up a bit short when compared to the Station.
It was a two-level structure that could be boarded by means of ladders on the sides. It had panels that would close to keep out the harsh solar radiation. you could mount the crawler on it so it would function as a winch. It was just the stinkin' coolest toy an eight-year-old boy could get his hands on.
That is, IF you could get your hands on one. Sadly, I never owned MMM. But I had a buddy who had nearly every accessory, including fellow astronauts Sergeant Storm, Doug Davis, and Jeff Long.
That crawler was something else. Battery powered, it would make its way over practically any obstacle. However, I suspect that Major Mason had some pretty bad lower back pain late in life. That thing didn't look like a very comfortable ride.
The love for the space program climaxed on July 20, 1969, when we proved JFK to be a prophet. America went absolutely giddy over men actually walking on the moon, except, of course, for those who say it was all fake.
But the next landing wasn't so exciting. The next, even less. NASA's budget soon began to be slashed as Americans demanded more tax money be spent on problems on this planet.
As we got bored with space missions, Major Matt Mason's sales plummeted. 1970 was the last year you could buy Major Matt Mason and his gadgets.
Today, of course, they can all be found on eBay, but at prices considerably higher than in our childhood. MMM is one of the most collectible toys.
But it's just not the same when your bedroom turned into a miniature moon base.
Comments (4)
I'm surprised it's taken you this long to bring up the Major. He was my favorite toy while he was available.
Great website. Just found it a couple of days ago and spent all night reading the past entries.
Posted by Lee | May 21, 2007 4:42 AM
Posted on May 21, 2007 04:42
Major Matt was probably my favorite toy for quite awhile. I remember him having a pull-string jet back that would allow him to "fly" up to the person holding on to the string. I also remember a follow-up to Matt but it being a frogman. I have such fond memories of the Major that I'm tempted to get some off eBay for my 7 year old. However, given that Matt doesn't have "super powers" my son will probably wonder what the big deal was.
Posted by Wesley | May 21, 2007 9:24 AM
Posted on May 21, 2007 09:24
I can't say that I remember this one. I was really into the space program, but Matt Mason passed me by....
Posted by Riversend | June 18, 2009 6:19 PM
Posted on June 18, 2009 18:19
Ah, the memories. I missed the cool space station and capsule. But I had the crawler, which was one of the more fun toys. Mat Mason was rubber like and he had wires inside so that you could bend him into certain positions and he would stay that way. I had a Gumb and Pokey with these wires for posing as well. My friend Diane across the street had a Barbie with this wire inside her so you could also bend her into almost any position. Ken appreciated that. Actually, as a diabolical young teen, I once left my younger cousin’s Barbie in an interesting position with Ken, in hopes they would show their mother who might pass out in shock. They laugh about that now.
I also had one of the characters with a yellow uniform. Matt’s was white. There was also a little maybe green spaceman but I did not have him. I would have liked it, though. The crawler had a vehicle it towed behind, a Bubble that another doll could ride in. The seat spun around inside so the doll remained upright sitting and a trailer held it on axis and attached to the crawler. The crawler was a great climber but if the incline was too high, it could flip over. Also the crawler did not like sand. It was meant for sterile in house terrain like blankets, cardboard, boards, cushions, or the like. We had mice as pets in 1970 and would ride them around inside the bubble trailer as well as supersize matchboxes that would allow it.
I got a Matt Mason glider in either 69 or 70 Xmas. Matt sat inside the front of the glider and this thing was big and very light thin plastic and it flew very good. Sort of like those balsam gliders and propeller driven by elastics gliders. Matt’s glider taking off from a 3rd story window is a sight to behold. Wish you all could have been there. It was to me, the best accessory Mason had.
Looking back in hindsight, and seeing what has gone on in the last 50 years, Mattel should have created a Matt Mason TV show or cartoon and developed even more cool stuff. They could have added women. They did have a black crew member, if memory serves me accurately. How come we never see Asian Barbies, or Masons or other such things ;-) Of course, affordability was an issue of the time and didn’t help. But with a TV show to fuel it, the toy system could have really become a classic.
The toys were reasonably durable. So many toys of the 60s were plastic that did not endure well at all. My Johnny Seven Gun, the One Man Army, a toy I dearly loved, had to legs that easily broke. Varies bullets and missiles were easily broken or lost. I find out now there were replacements but I never heard of any as a kid. The springs were so pathetic, (for safety reasons, which is BS), You might be lucky to get 6 or 8 ft with the dart like stuff. But the bravado and testosterone factor was outta sight! After you play with cowboy pistols and wimpy little rifles, nothing equals the pleasure of a real he-mans gun to kick some serious but with, at least in our heads. Even my aunt of 10 years more age that me was taken with it. Macho Charisma for sure.
But there were lots of problems with plastic. And we were never warned about leaving batteries in a toy for too long, so that they leaked and corroded the battery holding area.
But Matt allowed lots of versatility. But we were tough on poor old Matt. His turmoils here on earth were far worse than the rigors of space could be. And those springs inside Matt were broken after too many bends. What a drag cause without his maintaining a position, he would not stay inside his vehicles very well, if at all. The paradox is that if you got a lot of fun out of them, there was often little left of them to survive as collectibles.
My biggest complaint of toys in general was that they were often gimmicky and designed cheap to sell out quick and take the money and run. Longevity/durability would have required more attention to design and components, which might have raised the price beyond what people would pay.
I would love to see a toy museum in all major cities, with one in Boston near me. And traveling museum exhibits. I think Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the New York Met and many others ought to consider such a toy fair exhibit. What do ya say guys? Is the idea a winner?
Posted by Scott Irv | January 3, 2010 8:08 PM
Posted on January 3, 2010 20:08