Just as they once ruled the seas, the British once led the world in the development of the cardboard playspace race. The date was 1969, and while the US was fiddling around with some moon landing or another, the British company Polycell introduced awesome, silver foil-covered rocket playhouses and space stations, which were printed on the inside with an Op-Arty pattern of dials and buttons. Perfect for the hallucinatory effects of mid-afternoon Tang drinking [below, right].
Paperpod is a cardboard furniture and toy company in East Sussex which began with a toddler chair design. Their Rocket Playhouse, and their awesome, triangle-moduled Paperpod, are all made of recycled cardboard which packs flat for easy shipping and storage.
Paperpod Rocket Playhouse, 30 pounds, and Paperpod Paperpod, 35 pounds check for int'l shipping [paperpod.co.uk via boingboing]
Previously: Paper or Plastic? A trove of sweet, vintage cardboard kids furniture
About the only thing cooler than this that I've seen is my 2.5 year old daughter building a rough approximation of this with wine boxes and crayons. All because I was watching too many Voyager re-runs, "Daddy! It's the spaceship!"
The vertical one with fins is especially brilliant.
I can remember building a Battlestar Galactica Viper when I was a kid out of refrigerator and cereal boxes.