Sam's Toybox Homepage

Not owning a vertibird in my youth the Johnny Astro by Topper was, without question, the coolest toy in my household as I grew up. It belonged to my brother who when I told him I had purchased one this summer did not even remember the toy. How could you forget this one?

A flying toy like the vertibird, this one allowed you to fly the balloons around on a stream of air. Absolutely incredible. Two different versions of the toy were produced, the base unit and the portable explorer. Also available was a moon/mars landscape set which I am still after. Both of my units below came with the original balloons which is extremely rare.

Other rocket / flight / space related toys in my collection: Aeronautic Lab Kit by Logix (Science Fair), Astro Launch Game by Ohio Arts, Cap Rockets by various manufacturers, Cape Kennedy Carry-All by Marx, Moon Blast Off by Schaper.

Item number 6090, the original Johnny Astro. No date on the box but I seem to recall my brother getting this one for Christmas in 1967 or 1968. The toy was produced with two different colors of fan housings, the copper colored one shown here or a black one (like my brother's). Came with all you see plus a template to show how large to blow up the balloons and an astronaut and space capsule to fly beneath the balloons.
The Johnny Astro Explorer, portable version of the toy. Not quite as cool as the base unit and much harder to use but also a bit harder to find. Item 6092 and dated 1968. This one also came with two different colors of fan housing. I believe that this unit is almost complete missing only the hook that was attached to the bottom of the balloons to pick up the two styrofoam objects.

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Last Modified: October 10, 2001

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