Toy Story - Bill Ystrom

Original MMM LISTSERV submission from around 2001

Hi all,

I've got a few memories I'd like to add to the entertaining group sent out lately;

My first encounter with MMM was when one of my friends down the block had received the Space Station Deluxe Set w/Space Crawler for his birthday a few weeks before Xmas. I was knocked out at how cool it was and got the same set for Xmas, which must have been '67.

Over the next couple years I accumulated all the vehicles, except for the Astro Trac, another Matt, Storm, Callisto and Lazer. Somehow I never even saw a Scorpio until collecting as an adult.

A regular member of my MMM moonscape scenes was the Aurora Lost in Space Robot. Without the base, he was just about the right size. The last piece I remember getting was the Gamma Ray Gard. I saw it along with the new astronauts, "Doug D." & "Jeff L." at our local "Children's Bargain Town", the precursor to "Toys R Us". I walked home and scrounged up enough money, walked back, bought it and carried it home admiring the formidable look of the new weaponry.

A couple years later all the MMM stuff was packed away in a big box and being a teenager, what did I need all that kid stuff for? I gave it to my younger nephews, along with the Aurora LIS Robot (plus a Remco version which I disliked because of it's incorrect shape & colors, I appreciate it now as one cool toy!), my Strange Change, Hot Wheels and huge lot of Captain Action stuff. All except for Captain Action's Silver Streak, that I gave to a neighbor's kid...

Fast forward to about 1982. One morning I pull out of the garage on my way to work and there sitting on top of that same neighbor's trash can is my old Silver Streak! My daughter was about 3 years old at the time and she loved it! She sailed the Purple Pie Man and Strawberry Shortcake on many bathtub adventures until a couple years later when I got rid of it again! This time, right into the trash can!

Eventually around 1988-89 I learned of toy collecting and values of my long gone childhood toys. Yeah, I asked the nephews, but like me, they too had tired of the toys and got rid of them. Matt Mason was my favorite and I hoped I could find some, but man, I got bit by the collecting bug hard and well, the adventure continues...

I think a great name for a complete book on MMM stuff would be: EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MAJOR MATT MASON, BUT COULDN'T AFFORD TO ASK! Oh, and I couldn't agree more, the best finds I've made in this collecting arena have been the new friends found along the way.

Happy hunting guys - Bill Ystrom.


Bill is a member of the Major Matt Mason Facebook group and regularly contributes to discussions about toys. Bill produces reproduction Astro-trac tires that are identical to the original. He may be e-mailed here. 

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