Micronauts Commercial "Rocket Tubes": Presented by AcroRay's Laboratory

One of Mego's most ambitious toy creations was the Micronauts "Rocket Tubes" toy set. These air-pressurized tubes carried a figure in a small tubeway car or a specialized Micronaut figure (a blow-molded body with a Time Traveler head on it) through the tubes in a space age take on the classic toy train system.

Rocket Tubes, however, was plagued with problems. The toys were difficult to assemble, prone to air leakage and other technical bugs, and they were expensive. For retailers, this meant a slow-moving product that took up massive amounts of shelf space. Rocket Tubes sets could be found languishing at retail well into the 1980s, long after Mego folded.

Only a few styles of Rocket Tubes sets were made. Mego, however, planned numerous expansion sets for the toy system - including cargo transports and loading stations, special headquarters and command modules, a system of trusses that could support several parallel tubes, all combined into a Micronauts super-highway system. Sadly, those ambitions only exist on paper. For the full story, visit: http://micronautshomeworld.blogspot.com/2011/11/rocket-tube-diaries-part-1.html .

Ironically, Rocket Tubes is one of the few Micronauts products for which the original steel molds still survive.

Please visit my Micronauts blog at:
http://acroray.blogspot.com/

(Please note that several years ago I provided lower-resolution video files and VHS copies of this transfer to members of the collecting community, which have found their way to YouTube previously and also onto DVD commercial collection that have been offered for sale by individuals not associated with myself.)

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• AcroRay
• Micronauts
• Takara
• Mego
• 1970s Toys
• Toy Robots
• Rocket Tubes
• Vintage Television