Chutes Away!

A funny thing happened on the way to Mars Base recently. Its odd how one apparently small event triggers a number of other related happenings...  I recently bought a set of sixties spacemen on parachutes, just like I had as a boy.  Amazingly, they were still mint in the packet too and for a few minutes I was transported back to the sweetshop on the corner of my street, gazing at the wonders available as I clutched my shiny shilling..

A few days later, I visited a large sweetshop selling all kinds of weigh out sweets and the usual range of weird dayglo chews and powders that pass for confectionary these days. In amongst the lollipops and sherbets was a box of plastic rocket shaped containers with sweets inside. I snapped one up and after trying one of the Super Sour drops that they contained and discovering that it had obviously been dipped in paint stripper and laced with paraquat before being mislabelled a 'sweet', I tipped the contents into a nearby bin.

 The rocket itself, about 4 inches high, splits neatly into three sections and the little astronauts with their chute fitted neatly inside and despite the rocket looking a little fat and deformed, it wasn't too far from the sixties retro feel to look quite at home with its new pilot.

The Space Paratroop packaging - Made in Hong Kong - has lifted some classic space art for the header card and added a judicious parachute in the background. I've seen this kneeling spaceman many times, but can't place him - anyone recognise him ?

The figures themselves are remoulds from the older Archer series of spacemen from earlier in the decade. More on these colourful wonders soon..

Which leads me to the final point of connection - while leafing through a book looking for Giant spacemen, I came across the Archer figures - full circle once more!