1969.08.29 Deseret (UT) News Page 17 "Spacemen The Heroes Of Toy Store Set" (uncredited) Article

1969.08.29 Deseret (UT) News Page 17

Short article published in the Deseret News on August 29, 1969 regarding the popularity of space toys since the successful moon landing. There's a small mention of Major Matt Mason. It's uncredited but with the mention of ZCMI (local chain of stores) it was probably penned by a staff writer. Image shows kids playing with toys, including the Major Matt Mason Space Bubble, the Space Crawler, and the box (on end) of the Astro Trac (there's also a Kosmic Kiddle for the girls).

1969.08.29 Deseret (UT) News Page 17 "Spacemen The Heroes Of Toy Store Set" Article

Spacemen The Heroes Of Toy Store Set

(uncredited)

"Gee, Mom. What's exciting about Armstrong walking on the moon? Major Matt Matson (sic) did it a long time ago!"

Who's Major Matt Mason? 

He's a fantastic, 6"-high imitation doll of America's astronauts. Hundreds of similar "space" toys have flooded the market since the historic moon landing.

Actually, Mason, along with his all-doll space crew of "Callisto," a mysterious alien with advanced mental powers, "Sgt. Storm," Mason's space buddy, "Doug Davis," space scientist, and "Captain Lazer" accomplished the first moon landing over a year ago.

They crawled over craters with a "moon-walker," jetted through the air with special jet packs, and fought off alien invaders with a giant "moon cannon."

And best of all, they can repeat the feat daily in any living room or back yard.

Herald Hammond, owner of Western Toy and Hobby, noted that Matt Mason and other space toys weren't "hot" items until this year. "In the past, we have done very poorly with any type of moon toy. That sure changed this year," he said.

Local toy store owners and distributors all reported a big jump in "space toy" sales following the successful landing of Apollo 11.

"The week following the moon shot, where we would sell $50 a week in moon toys, we sold $1,000 worth of these types of toys. Although we rushed orders to factories, we sold out of every type of toy we had," Hammond said.

Plastic scale models of the LEM (Lunar Entry Module), the Apollo Spacecraft and the huge Saturn rocket were the most demanded items, however. One store owner reported a 50 per cent increase in sales on models that range from $1-$12 in price.

Other normally slow-selling items, like telescopes and building toys, became overnight bestsellers. "Kids can relate to things like building toys and telescopes and can actually feel a part of the moon operation," Richard Lindsley, head of ZCMI's toy department said.

Toy stores and distributors are already enlarging their supplies of space toys and are planning to intensify sales campaigns. "In anticipation of the next moon shot, and after seeing how the moon toys sold this time around, we're building our stock up as fast as we can." Hammond concluded.

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