Masudaya Sonicon Rocket (Blue), Atomic Rocket X-1800 (Blue & White), & Planet Explorer Battery-operated Tin Spaceships (Masuda...

Description

Masudaya Sonicon Rocket (Blue), Atomic Rocket X-1800 (Blue & White), & Planet Explorer Battery-operated Tin Spaceships (Masudaya, 1960). This three-piece Masudaya lot showcases early 1960s Japanese battery-operated space vehicles, each employing non-fall or novelty control mechanisms characteristic of the period. The Sonicon Rocket is the blue/light blue lithographed version, designed for whistle-controlled directional movement via an internal sound-activated relay system, a concept marketed in late 1960 and early 1961 catalogs. The Atomic Rocket X-1800 features Masudaya's edge-detecting non-fall action using a metal rocker in the base, a patterned cockpit lens with internal light effect rather than a pilot figure, and restrained lithography compared to later variants. Completing the group is the Planet Explorer, another non-fall Masudaya spaceship, distinguished by its astronaut pilot beneath a clear plastic dome, square rotating antenna assembly, and bold silver, blue, and red color scheme. All three ships show surface wear, scratches, paint loss, and scattered oxidation, particularly along edges and raised details. Clear plastic cockpit covers show scuffing and a crack in the X-1800 cockpit window. Battery compartments show oxidation and residue consistent with prior battery storage. The Sonicon Rocket has some denting and fading on the tail fins along with signs of paint touch-ups. It is also missing its antenna and whistle accessories. The X-1800 is missing its large rotating plastic antenna. These items are untested, and no guarantee can be made regarding their working conditions.

Masudaya, often branded as Modern Toys, was a Tokyo-based Japanese toy manufacturer active throughout the postwar tin toy era and one of the most influential producers of large-scale mechanical and battery-operated toys. Toys are typically marked with the M-T or Modern Toys logo, a branding practice that has long caused confusion between the company name and trademark. Masudaya is especially known for technically ambitious battery-operated designs, including early radio-controlled toys and the celebrated "Gang of Five" skirted robots of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and later sustained the business by transitioning into the airsoft market in the 1980s after the decline of tin toy production.

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