Mattel Major MATT MASON Demonstration Unit

Mattel Demonstration Unit 

The Mattel Major MATT MASON™ Demonstration Unit is one of those things you hear about and think you'll never own. It's the only relatively intact one that exists, I believe. When I first heard about this, it was the story of Joe DeMarco and that he owned a store display that was used at the 1967 New York Toy Fair. The unit was used to display The Space Station, the Space Crawler, figures, launch accessories and the Space Rover. Joe also owned a Space Rover, probably the only one surviving that exits, which surfaced a few months after I acquired this display.

The display itself is large measuring 48 1/2" wide and  36 3/4" deep. The sides are about 3" towards the front and 6" towards the back. The large crater is about 15" in diameter. It appears to be made of thick PVC that looks to have been vacuformed (not sure if PVC of this thickness can be though) - would love to see a setup large enough to do something like this - framed in wood with sides that taper towards the front.

Three of the craters to the right are positioned so that the Space Station Supports can be inserted and probably the intent for quick setup. There's a Major MATT MASON square logo along the interior back wall/side and "MATTEL'S MAN IN SPACE™" printed along the outside front wall towards the viewer from the front. The sides are painted blue with paper labels applied for the graphics.

My apologies for the photos - the store display is quite large and difficult to photograph (at the time it was in my woodworking shop which is only 11' x 20').

Mattel Demonstration Unit Bottom

Mattel Demonstration Unit 1

Mattel Demonstration Unit 2

Mattel Demonstration Unit 3

Mattel Demonstration Unit 4

Mattel Demonstration Unit 5

Packaging:

The carton is a white faxed corrugated cardboard box that opens along one edge with a convenient carrying "handle" made of cardboard (mine is missing the loop) and a large label with "MAJOR MATT MASON™ - Mattel's Man in Space! - DEMONSTRATION UNIT" along with a small square MMM logo.

Mattel Demonstration Unit Carton Top

Mattel Demonstration Unit Carton Label

Mattel Catalog Specifications:

Unknown. While the unit appears like it was originally intended as an accessory, as far as I know only a handful were produced to be used at larger events, like Toy Fairs or large toy store displays.

Variations:

None known

John's Notes:

The story behind this unit is somewhat sad. As noted above, I had heard about this in the past but basically discounted it as it had somewhat a mythic element to it. I had only spoken to Joe DeMarco once by phone and we hadn't discussed this particular store display as I wasn't aware of it at the time - I was told later that it's too bad we didn't talk about it. Joe died a short while after my conversation with him - seems his health wasn't that great. Joe, it seemed, was a big toy collector in Alabama who had the dream of opening a vintage toy store and partial museum. His accumulation was quite large eventually filling a few storage units. His best pieces were kept in his house and this Demonstration Unit in the basement. The water damage you see on the carton and to the leading edge (which was the edge closest to the floor, presumably the box was leaning against the wall) got wet from flooding as a result of a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast. I suspect that many of the other vintage packaged toys that occasionally show up on eBay also came from his basement. Peter DiBenedetto later confirmed that he knew about the store display from previous conversations with Joe.

In any case, the estate was left to his sister Evelyn to part out with the proceeds going towards the surviving family so she began putting the word out about items for sale at a slow pace. However, it seems the relatives became impatient and basically opened up everything to sell at a local auction - the Demonstration Unit was sold in this manner and eventually ended up in my possession. His sister later told me she was glad it ended up in my collection (I purchased a few other items including an MMM Notebook directly from her).

2023.08.21 - the remains of one - the terrain part only, surfaced recently in the Facebook group: Scott Dee, Jan 30, 2023 

Scott Dee's Demonstration Unit Base

"This was a display at JCPenney which is where I bought most of my toys back in the late 60s and early 70s. My father talked to the manager of the store to let him buy this for five dollars. I took the wooden frame off so I was able to hang it on my wall and display this nice piece. I’ve never seen one anywhere like it, it’s one of a kind.  It measures 4’x3’"

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