Adventure 2000, Rocket Striker; Metal & Plastic, English, Lesney, 1977

Boxed toy space vehicle with accessories. The vehicle is made from die-cast metal, painted pale green, with black and transparent plastic parts. It is chunky and has six wheels. On its top are a pair of black plastic spring-loaded doors, which are operated by a red plastic pull-switch at the rear of the vehicle. Operating the switch reveals the missile launcher, into which a black plastic projectile can be fitted. It is spring-loaded, and is operated by a simple switch on the right side. The missile launcher is mounted on a hinge and it can be rotated. There is storage space for four missiles on the inside of the doors, two on either door. On top of the vehicle's cab is a revolving 'radar dish' made from red plastic.

With the vehicle are six black plastic missiles which can be shot from the launcher on top of the rear section. Five of these are unused, connected to plastic frames, one has been removed. There are also three grey plastic astronauts: two are armed with space rifles (one is broken), one wears a cape and is armed with a pistol.

The box is of printed card with a transparent front, inside is printed card packaging to keep the toys in place. The box and packaging are printed with images of extraterrestrial planetary surfaces and artist's impressions of the Rocket Striker vehicle. On the back of the box are images of the vehicle and notes annotating its various features. On the underside are shown other vehicles from the Adventure 2000 series. The astronaut figures can be slid into slots in the packaging, and the vehicle can be secured inside a cut-out space.

Part of the Edward Castle collection.

Manufactured under Lesney's 'Matchbox' brand.

The futuristic 'Adventure 2000' line was debuted by Matchbox in 1977, it recycled several vehicles from their 'Superfast' line of the earlier 1970s. The sets were produced until about 1980, later ones being painted blue rather than green. Set in the context of an interplanetary war, the vehicles are highly detailed and imaginative. The K-2004 Rocket Striker was in fact a recoloured version of Matchbox's earlier 'Battle Kings' line, in which it was called the K-111 Missile Launcher.

B.46:1 to 8-2016