Medicom Kubrick Cosmonauts boxed set - Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток-1, East 1 or Orient 1)

This is a repost since today is April 12.

Spacecraft History: Vostok 1(Russian: Восток-1, East 1 or Orient 1) was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight took Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut from the Soviet Union, into space. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer space, as well as the first orbital flight of a manned vehicle. Vostok 1 was launched by the Soviet space program, and was designed by Soviet engineers guided by Sergei Korolev under the supervision of Kerim Kerimov and others.

Originally posted on April 18, 2011:
On 12 April 1961, aboard the Vostok 3KA-3 (Vostok 1), Gagarin became both the first human to travel into space, and the first to orbit the earth. On April 12, 2011 the world marked 50 years of Yuri Gagarin’s historic spaceflight that ushered in the era of space exploration. From this year on, April 12 will be celebrated worldwide as International Day of Human Spaceflight.

This Kubrick Cosmonauts boxed set was released in 2003 and featured mini versions of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, first dog in space Laika, and a surprisingly detailed Vostok spacecraft. Made by Japan's Medicom Toy, Kubrick was a cross between LEGO and Playmobil but modeled to represent celebrities and other pop-culture favorites.

Soviet space dog Laika (Russian: Лайка, literally meaning "Barker"; c. 1954 – November 3, 1957) was the first animal to orbit the Earth – as well as the first animal to die in orbit :( The experiment did prove that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness, paving the way for human spaceflight and providing scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments.

On April 11, 2008, Russian officials unveiled a monument to Laika. A small monument in her honor was built near the military research facility in Moscow which prepared Laika's flight to space. It features a dog standing on top of a rocket.

Vostok 1 (Russian: Восток-1, East 1 or Orient 1) was the first spaceflight in the Vostok program and the first human spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA spacecraft was launched on April 12, 1961. The flight took Yuri Gagarin, a cosmonaut ("sailor of the cosmos") from the Soviet Union, into space. The flight marked the first time that a human entered outer space, as well as the first orbital flight of a manned vehicle.

Here's a picture of the Vostok Spacecraft to show just how accurate Medicom was in getting the details right and pretty much spot on :) click on the picture below for a bigger and better view

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s brief, 108 minute, flight proved humans’ ability to fly to the stars, and was a well-deserved triumph of Soviet science and industry and also signified that the USSR had beaten the Americans to space.

The Medicom Toy Kubrick Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin figure comes with removable helmet.

Here's the Medicom Kubrick Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin figure getting into his Vostok 1 spacecraft

Scroll down for more close-up and turnaround views of this amazingly detailed miniature Vostok 1 spacecraft by Medicom

It certainly has all the bells and whistles crafted on it - stunningly good 

And here are some milestones in space exploration to share, from the world's first satellite (Sputnik 1) to first man in space (Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin), first woman in space (Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova) and first man to space walk (Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov), all were Russians until Neil Armstrong's walk on the Moon. Click on the picture below for a better view and easier read :)