Missile Man Willie "Friendship VII" Complete Open Case of 24 (Tigrett, 1962)....

Description

Missile Man Willie "Friendship VII" Complete Open Case of 24 (Tigrett, 1962). This complete open case comprises 24 individually carded examples of Tigrett's Missile Man Willie, a Space Race-era novelty toy produced in 1962. The toy is a suction-cup, pull-string "wall-walking" figure designed to travel across smooth vertical surfaces and ceilings, marketed on its gravity-defying mechanical action. Each example in this case features the spherical satellite component printed "Friendship VII," a deliberate production variant that directly references John Glenn's Mercury capsule and anchors the toy within period space-program imagery. Tigrett is also known to have issued examples printed "Canaveral," making the satellite text a legitimate and collectible point of variation within the line. All figures are unused and remain individually sealed on their original cardbacks, presented together in an original retail open case configuration. The cardbacks show significant wear throughout, with heavy scuffing and denting along the edges, pronounced scuffing and crushing to the corners, and extensive scuffing, creasing, and crushing across the card surfaces. Notable curling is present on the cards, consistent with age and long-term storage. An exceptionally scarce survivor in complete case form, this Missile Man Willie "Friendship VII" grouping preserves a full retail snapshot of early-1960s novelty toy production, capturing how Space Race imagery was translated into simple, mechanically driven play at the height of public fascination with space exploration.

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