Today, we’ll take look at one of the most iconic vehicles of all time, the G.I. Joe Mercury Capsule.
First issued beginning in 1966, G.I. Joe entered the space race at the peak of its intensity. Shipping originally with a 45 rpm record and a Joe-sized spacesuit, this toy representation of the Mercury capsule quickly became a best seller for the line, and it would be offered multiple times over the decade in slightly different colors and accessories. In particular, Sears got an exclusive that included a raft and float pod, for water recoveries.
Since the actual Mercury capsule it is based on is a single-seat orbiter, we’ll pretend mine is a Gemini capsule for the sake of 6-inch astronauts. The features are simple but sufficient and demonstrate an attention to detail you would normally find in only the Hasbro vehicles, as opposed to the Irwin or Palitoy ones.
The most obvious feature is the sliding canopy window, that provides access to the cabin. Both have stood the test of time and weathered fairly well. The instrument panels and controls are pretty well detailed, and eventually I should add some paint to them to really bring them to life. It is large enough to accommodate my hastily made 1:12 astronauts, but it looks just as good with a 1:6 one in the molded center relief, and there is a seat belt to secure him there. There is a port for a communications wire that would go from the spacesuit to the capsule, but that’s probably long gone.
On the exterior, there are plenty of accurate-looking sculpted panels and louvers. Most of these capsules were either in molded white or gray, with the large United States sticker on the side. Mine had seen more than a few landings before I got it, so I added some fresh paint and weathering to incorporate that wear and tear. Granted, it doesn’t actually do anything on the exterior here, but neither did the real thing — it would just rotate in orbit, firing those stabilizers when adjusting for re-entry. But it does float!
While it is clearly a little simple by today’s standards, few G.I. Joe accessories better demonstrate the time of their creation than the space capsule.
How many NASA and Space X technicians tested their first explorations with one of these? How many kids watched the moon landing with one cradled in their lap? I’m obviously a history nerd, says so in my bio, but there is something very tantalizing about vehicles and figures like these, and their silent witness of events.
