Toy, Tin Toy, Robot, Astro Scout 3 Astronaut

Object Details

Manufacturer

Yonezawa Toys, Co., Ltd., Japanese

Summary

This metal Astro Scout 3 Astronaut is a "tin toy" manufactured in Japan for export to Western markets. Its maker, Yonezawa Toys, Co., Ltd., was one of the biggest manufacturers of such toys. In post-WWII Japan, producing these metal toys began as a way to tap into an international market for "penny toys" or cheap playthings, but developed by the late 1950s into a industry manufacturing creatively-designed, complex toys with moving parts and/lights that competed successfully with Western toymakers. Toys like this one, which can be viewed as either a human space traveler or a futuristic robot, blended the American fascination with outer space with the Japanese fad for robots.

Using “kanei-kogyo,” or family industries, many Japanese tin toy companies distributed preprinted metal sheets to home-based shops, where families worked together to stamp, shape, and wholly or partially assemble them. The distributor paid these family shops by the piece and shipped the completed toys overseas. Because space themes sold well, many toys received space-age designs or packaging.

The Gewirz family donated this toy to the Museum in 2006.

Credit Line

Gift of the Carl and Nancy Gewirz Fund Inc.

Inventory Number

A20070081000

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture

Materials

Metal, plastic

Dimensions

3-D: 13.3 x 11.4 x 24.1cm (5 1/4 x 4 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.)

Country of Origin

Japan

See more items in

National Air and Space Museum Collection

Location

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA

Hangar

James S. McDonnell Space Hangar

National Air and Space Museum

Record ID

nasm_A20070081000

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv97d09f8da-981e-4bf6-8e07-a0ed309b2dfb