Moon McDare

Moon McDare
By Euphrates

Between 1966 and 1969, just about every major toy company had a line that
capitolized on the popularity of the space program. Mattel offered kids
Major Matt Mason, Eldon gave us Billy Blastoff, Marx presented Johnny and
Jane Apollo, Hasbro sent GI Joe into space with a capsule and realistic
space suit, and in 1965 Gilbert delivered Moon McDare.

Gilbert's 11-inch figures generally suffered from poor articulation and bland
packaging but made up for it with really cool accessories. The Man from
UNCLE and James Bond line come with weapons and gadgets that rival GI Joe in
quality and functionality, and the Moon McDare line is no exception.

The basic Moon McDare figure came with his overalls, jumpsuits, space suit,
helmet, boots, gloves, space gun and air-conditioner in a figure box. Marx
gave Johnny Apollo a wife, so Gilbert gave Moon a goofy first name and a dog -
Space Mutt. Space Mutt came with a dog-shaped space suit, helmet and oxygen
tanks. He was nearly 5 inches long. Here is a list of some of the other
accessory sets you could buy for Mr. McDare:

Moon McDare's Moon Explorer Set

Oxygen Tanks that hold batterys which powers a noise making space gun

Communications Unit with Compass

Camera

Pack with Blinking Light

Ticking Geiger Counter

Pack with Retractable Cord

Action Spaceman Equipment Set

Blinker Light

Power Pack

Camera

Spaceman Equipment Set

Geiger Counter

Space Gun that shoots projectiles

2 Projectiles

Spaceman Equipment Set

Binoculars

Geiger Counter

Pack with Retractable Cord

Moon McDare is not easy to find and if you do happen to locate one, you'll
discover that finding one with an untorn rubber space suit is even harder.
Space Mutt seems to suffer even more from obscurity and damaged suits.
Both figures can set you back up to $75 each.

The accessory sets are suprisingly easy to find and can be had for generally under $25.