Customer Reviews

Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys

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Blast Off! does what other collector's books only pretend to do. Collector books usually center around value guides, and pass themselves off as glorified shopping lists for toy shows and antique malls. Other books forego any knowledge of the subject whatsoever, and go with photographic essays of the nostalgia craze. A third sort of book tells long stories about growing up in some bygone era. All three sorts of books have, understandably a small readership and limited popular appeal.

The authors of Blast Off!, on the other hand, did the hard work of writing a real book, somehow combining it with the best photos and graphics I've seen in a collector's book, and sprinkling in enough anecdotes and oral histories to keep it interesting. This book is a major effort from an accomplished team: a knowledgeable collector, a lively writer, and an avid fan and history buff--the last being Mike Richardson, publisher of Dark Horse comics and owner of the Things from Another World sci-fi comic shops.

Blast Off! launches itself as an overview/ intro to the golden age of space toys, but its appeal is really wider than that. This is a book collectors will want, not simply to locate market values for haggling at the junk shop, but to remind them what they like about their hobby. Beautiful and imaginative graphics evoke the promise and wonder of the space age, but the book is so lively and informative I had to read it twice: once to read the captions and look at the pictures, and again just enjoying the text.

It's impossible to overstate how great this book is. The photographs are incredibly clear and bright, and the subject matter is drawn from endlessly rich collections. Books like this tend to fall through the cracks--not really appealing to the general reader, and yet not in-depth enough for the collector. But a reader from the first category who casually glances at this book may find a new interest, and seasoned collectors may find rarities they didn't know existed. Every era has volumes that define it; for the space age, that would be Blast Off!

BLAST OFF is not only a beautiful book to behold it is researched by and with the help of fans who love the space toys of the 30's, 40's and 50's. The team at Dark Horse has given space toy fans a bookmark in the history of childhood toys.

BLAST OFF includes photos and information on toys inspired from the space heroes of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to the Space Opera heroes of Space Patrol, Tom Corbett, Rocky Jones and other role models of the 1950's. There are chapters on the English toys and the robots from Japan along with well-researched sections and chapters on the makers of the space toys of our childhood, Archer, Marx and Pyro. Many of the toys displayed in this book are rare and hard to find items that have not been seen before now.

However, the backbone of the book is the interviews with collectors and fans of space toys. Why we remember and kept these playthings of our childhood is as interesting as the fantastic photos and ads that are generously spread throughout the book.

I found that I would move back and forth between chapters, reading about the toys that I remembered but had not seen in many years. It brought back many good memories along with information and research that should be saved and shared with future generations.

A must have book for any science fiction or space toy collector. Thank you Dark Horse Books and the creative team of Mark, Steve and Mike for bringing us this fantastic slice of childhood back to life. I hope BLAST OFF stays in print for many years to come as a reference point in the history of not just toys but SPACE TOYS!!!!

I just received a copy of this truly incredible book. If you like or collect space toys this is the book for you. Even if you don't, you'll find this book fascinating as it has histories of toys that most of us had as a kid. The pictures alone are worth having the book. I know, because some of my stuff is in there and it's never looked so good. Mark Young, Steve Duin, and Mike Richardson have left no stone unturned in the research on this book. I thought I knew a lot about space toys. However, there's so much that has been manufactured that I knew nothing about and they have pictures to prove it.

One of my favorite items is a diorama done in 1925 by Henri Mignot of WAR OF THE WORLDS. It is truly awesome. Turning each page takes me back to a happier time. I invite you to take the journey too.

Over the years there have been many books written about space toys. From Leland and Crystal Payton's Space Toys: A Collectors' Guide, 1982 , to the sections on space toys in Stuart Schneider's now classic 1993 book Collecting the Space Race, to the recent UFO & Alien Collectibles Price Guide published last year by Dana Cain, numerous publications have presented space toys of one kind or another. Yet despite the substantial interest in the topic, the definitive study remained to be written - until now. For some of the best writings on space toys, like the Payton's book, are now painfully outdated; others , like Cain's, sufferfrom slipshod research and shoddy organization; and many, like the recent Space
Toys of the 60s:An Illustrated Collector's Guide by James Gilliam are too tightly focused on a particular toy type to offer a survey of the field as a whole.

Blast Off changes all that. It is a book that sets a new standard for the study of space toys and for toys in general. Many things make this book a pacesetter. To begin with, it is fastidiously accurate. Years in the making, it is the result of painstaking original research about the toys and toymakers who created the most popular space toys. From Archer to Johillco to the origins of
Japanese tin robots, each manufacturer and their toys are presented in detail. In addition, the book covers virtually all the categories of space toys including: rayguns, tin robots, playsets, comic books, pulp magazines, original advetising, space figures, space helmets and clothes, games, card sets, and many more. Yet it is not only toys that are exhaustively studied in this volume, the book also presents extensive information on all of the major Golden Age space heloes like Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Dan Dare, Tom Corbett, Captain Video, and the Space Patrol television show. And that's only the beginning. Blast Off contains extensive interviews with many prominent collectors and authorities in the field as well as hundreds of incredible color photographs, patent drawing and advertisements, many of which have never been illustrated in any other volume. Wrap all this up into a books that is beautifully designed and visually stunning, and there you have it - the definitive study.

If, perhish the thought, you could only have one book on space toys, Blast Off should be it. I was especially interested in the newly unearthed information about the ties between English and American space toys, the story of the recent Griffith Robot Collection Auction at Sotheby's in December of 2000, and the
interviews with collectors and authorities like Robert Lesser and Bob Burns.

This is a remarkable, and a breakthrough, book. I loved it, and I hope it sets a model for books about toys in the future.

Blast Off! is a fun and fascinating read for any fan of science fiction, space toys, or comic books. It's a beautiful coffee table-sized book with sexy images of robots, ray guns, and toys of all types that make you feel nostalgic even if you don't remember these toys from the first time around.

This book offers a history of "in the know" type stories about specific toys and the personalities who created and purchased them. There's the Buck Rogers XZ-31 rocket pistol that led Macy's and Gimbels into their most vicious price war ever, dropping prices by the hour to support the most successful toy promotion the world had ever seen. And there's the collector Bob Lesser who pays double the sticker price to win dealer loyalty. And there's a never-been-published story of the untimely death of Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond. Plus the authors offer insight into how toys have affected history, entertainment, and the space program.

If you're a fan of Buck Rogers like I am, you should also check out Blast Off! author S. Mark Young's interviews with Erin Grey in Filmfax (Oct/Nov 2002 and Feb/Mar 2003) for a sensitive rendering of a sensational story.

More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.

BUY THIS BOOK!!! "Why?", you may ask. Well, aside from being the definitive book on space toys, BLAST
OFF! gives you more color photos of incredible space toys than you have ever seen at one time and in one place.
We all have fond memories of some space toy from our childhood. Trying to recapture our past, we may even
buy back one or two of these toys at a swap meet or toy show.
Going one step further, we now start buying books, magazines, or auction catalogues featuring space toys. All
these serve as our mental guide to what's "out there".
Initially, this method succeeds; eventually, however, it fails because the photos we've assembled are in black and
white while our memory of these toys is in true, living color.
Enter S. Mark Young with his book, BLAST OFF! Any space toy you ever had or read about, along with others you've never seen before, is photographed here in color so real that you can almost reach into the page and take out whatever wind-up rocket, disintegrator pistol, or bubble helmet your heart desires.
And, for those fans starved for information, wait until you read the chapter on Archer Plastics! Did you know that
the first Archer space playset and the first Marx space playset debuted at the same time? The year was 1952.
So, don't wait, don't hesitate, order your copy now. Be the first kid on your block to own a copy of S. Mark
Young's BLAST OFF!

BLAST OFF is a tasty fusion of pictures and narrative that'll more than satisfy any fan of the Golden Age of space toys.

Young, Duin and Richardson attack the subject matter the way only true fans are capable. Their words-and-pictures coverage of the fantastic 1925 War of the Worlds diorama by Henri Mignot, for example, reveals a fascinating bit of work whose existence is not even mentioned in the otherwise excellent book, THE COMPLETE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Yet, here was the first major space toy, produced the year before Buck Rogers debuted in "Amazing Stories."

How about a first-person, kid's-eye account of ninety minutes inside the fantastic Ralston Rocket, an experience usually limited to 10 seconds per tyke? The mind boggles.

Get a copy of BLAST OFF and be sure to block off plenty of uninterrupted browsing time. The text is fascinating, and the photos will keep you up past midnight with visions of airships and supersonic aces streaking through your head.

- JOHN MICHLIG, author of IT CAME FROM BOB'S BASEMENT, GI JOE: THE COMPLETE STORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION, and creator of THE GI JOE MASTERPIECE EDITION

If you collect Space Toys or are interested in America's fascination with space in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, this book is a must for your library. Space memorabilia has remained high on the list of the most desirable collectibles and the interest in acquiring prime examples from the "Golden Age" is on the rise. This book is an in-depth look the finest collections of space toys and related memorabilia on the planet.

As the author of PLASTIC TOYS - Dimestore Dreams Of The 40s & 50s, I can tell you a ton of effort has gone into this beautiful and inspiring book. From robots and space guns to sci-fi books and out-of-this-world playsets, you won't be disappointed. The photos are topnotch and the scope of the items shown is without equal. In short, I can't imagine a better book ever being written on the subject!

Bill Hanlon
Author of PLASTIC TOYS

Wow, this book has it all! Great photos, coverage of many vintage space collectible catagories, and what most books in this genre lack, detailed, correct information and history on the toys and collectibles themselves, not to mention values and rarity for many of the items shown! This is the most comprehensive volume to date on the subject, and a real value for a hardcover book of this size and format! If you collect vintage space toys, robots, and unusual space themed items, or just love them, this book is a must have! This is not just another coffee table photo book...It features many obscure, and rare items in the periphery of the hobby, like a collection of scarce vintage rocket shaped cigarette lighters, a rare space themed bicycle, lamps, and more. It would take 10 books to cover all the information in this one great volume. If you only ever buy one book on space toys, make this the one!