Presenting an extremely rare, much sought-after, 1960 Capsule 6 Masudaya Battery Operated Toy! This vintage rocket toy was made in Japan by Masudaya / Modern Toys in the early 1960’s. The capsule measures 10″ inches longs and is 5 1/4″ inches tall. The litho appears in great shape! Some very light scuffs and light wear. No crack or missing pieces. I put in 3 size D batteries to test the toy out. The nose light right up and the capsule moved around. The was also a whistling sound while the astronaut rocked back and forth. I found some information about this toy in the book Vintage Toys: Robots and Space Toys: “The pre-Mercury period in American space history is an interesting one. This was the time in which the best and the brightest were determining exactly how to make space vehicles viable and safe for the astronauts they’d be carrying. The public wouldn’t get a tasted for NASA’s designs until late 1961 and early 1962, when the first Mercury capsules were put on public display. Prior to this, of course, the designs of the future were an exercise in complete subjectivity, as Capsule 6, by Masudaya, demonstrates. This circa 1960 toy actually has more in common with the armor shell concepts first pioneered by turn of the century filmmaker Georges Melies than the succeeding designs of NASA’s Mercury and Gemini capsules. The the tin litho battery op features standard mystery action, flashing lights, and its most notable element, a visible cockpit housing a tin litho astronaut. Masudaya’s packaging for Capsule 6 is particularly striking, making good use of primary color capsule artwork rendered realistically against a stylized lunar background. A scarce toy, Capsule 6 commands serious attention from collectors today, but for its uncommon nature as well as its pre-NASA view of the future.”