Mattel #6301 Moon Suit Pak

#6301 Moon Suit Pak Card Front

One of the initial three accessory packs available to Major Matt Mason since the toy line's inception, the Moon Suit Pak is one of those essential accessories that no collection is complete without. The Moon Suit is an ingenious toy that encapsulates a figure by snapping the front and back halves together, with the legs extended through an opening at the bottom. The suit is bell-shaped and based upon some early space designs (more in the "Notes" section below). What made this toy so interesting and remembered are the two rubbery bellows arms that extend from the front. With a couple of squeezes of a yellow bellows, the toy operator may cause the arms to extend and contract via a clear tube.

In retrospect, the action of this toy may be a bit lame, however during the 60's, there were no other toys remotely like this one. Mattel always came up with new and interesting ways to utilize mechanical, pneumatic and electrical systems to get action and playability into their toys. This is a prime example of one such innovation. The accessory came with a hammer, screwdriver and wrench, which all fit into a handy rack along the side of the Moon Suit. The other tool was the two-piece Radiation Detector (the idea being that the suit would be suitable during bad radiation time on the Moon!).

The card reads: "Must be Worn when Moon Walking - Protects Astronaut from Solar Radiation & Meteorites, Extreme Heat & Cold - Remote Control Arms"

This appears to be one of the most sought-after and memorable loose items for MMM, especially by those collectors that received an MMM figure during Christmas of 1967 or early in 1968. This accessory usually either accompanied MMM as a carded item, or came with Matt in the Major Matt Mason with Moon Suit package. Because of the fragility of the rubber compounds used in the bellows-like arms, the suit is almost never found with the arms intact. There are several solutions for arm replacement, however almost exact replicas may be purchased from Joe "Moonsuit Guy" Sikora (joey-s on eBay). Please review the Moon Suit Arms page in the Resources: Restoration area of the site.  

#6301 Moon Suit Pak Card Back

Packaging:

The Card is full-color, process-printed and is 8 1/2" x 12" x 2" Copyright is 1966.

Sticker Sheet:

Not Available

Mattel Catalog Specifications:

(First appearance: Mattel Toys 1967 "Toy Fair" Catalog Page 96)

NEW! MOON SUIT PAK #6301
Essential equipment for survival and space experimentation! Includes molded plastic moon suit with flexible arms and grasping hand. Air pump and tubing for remote arm control, two-piece radiation detector, interior control console, screw driver and rock hammer.

Individual punched blister card, 8 ½" x 12"
Each in Std. Pack: 1 Doz.
Wt: 3 Lbs.

Variations:

• Mattel GmbH (German) Mondanzug
• Japanese Moon Suit Card Instructions

John's Notes:

This is a fairly tough carded piece to find, especially with the arms in flexible condition. It seems that if the edges of the bubble are still sealed, it is still possible to find a good suit. Usually the accessory has bits and pieces of Moonsuit arm dust in the package, or the arms are visibly hard, cracked and fragile. The suit was actually copied from the Lunar Exploration Suit, Model MK 1 developed by Allyn Hazard in the hopes of a NASA contract. This suit was featured on the cover of Life Magazine, as well as being featured in two issues of Boy's Life. There is more information in the Moon Suit section of the Wildtoys site.

Accessory may also be found in:

• 6303 Major MATT MASON with MOON SUIT

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