MOONBASE CENTRAL

Friday, 19 June 2026

I lost the Sun...

Just another long story short.

This is the World War 2 equivalent of the Crablogger from Thunderbirds.

750mm of Diesel powered trench digger!

-And this model is just half of the actual machine!

These are 3D Fibre prints, made from PLA, which is a bio plastic. They are reasonably sensitive to warm temperatures, so even if they were put out to dry in the sunshine, I'd have to be careful, that they didn't warp.

This Olive Drab scheme is actually water based house paint, put on with an airbrush.

It'll need two coats to get an even coverage, but once the first layer is set, the second should stick without any problem.

But using a paint that dries by evaporation, on a cold winter's day has it's own problems.

To get a faster dry, I'm blasting it with cold air from a desk fan. No warpage and the first coat is almost dry!

Some better pix as they become available...

Post if you like, but I'm still working on some Superman Returns piccies for you!

Cheers,

Looey

Arco UFO Cars?

Ha ha, I had to chuckle, these two plastic cars really did remind me of the cool cars in UFO at first glance. Unusual, I've never seen them before. Play Wheels by Arco. Do you know them?

Thursday, 18 June 2026

Blow Me!

You can't keep a good design down.

Here's a 1992 McDonalds bubbler my daughter got with a happy meal at the time (still in it's bag. This is from the Web)

Here's the same toy as part of the Popeye Chain bubbles Maker by rack kings Larami (not sure of the date).

Have you got a bubbler?

Captions Needed! It's Magic!

So here's a couple of old spacemen. I reckon the bluey is Magic Robot.

They need a good caption or maybe what they're saying to each other!

Have a go!

The Great Mercury Plot 1966

This was up at Bonham's earlier this month.

Doctor Who: The original artwork of The Great Mercury Plot from The Dalek Outer Space Book, 1966

I really like this lively artwork.

Do you?

Anyone got the book?

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Sci-Fi TV this Last Week

The Boroughs: what a breath of fresh air this series was. Clearly made for old f*rts like me and the Missus, this US sci-fi show was Stranger Things for pensioners. Indeed it was made by the same team I understand. Both of us loved it and watched the whole shabang over two nights. And not a teenager in sight! Yay!

Anyone else caught the Burroughs?

The Expanse: this series was one for me after the Missus went to bed. I began last night. An American space drama set on Ceres with stints on Earth and Mars too. It seems to be about air and water though I'm unsure yet. It's a cocktail of ALIEN, Space Precinct, Outland and the Fifth Element, the jaded cop being Thomas Jane aka the Punisher. He also reminds me of Brogan in Space Precinct, at least to look at.

I'm not sure about the Expanse yet but I'll give episode three a go.

I think it's based on a series of novels.

Anyone read them? Have you seen the Expanse?

Hooked on TJ Hooker

Avoiding watching the TV News (it's always bad!) on a morning I've opted for an old TV cop show on repeat.

TJ. Hooker

Yep, Captain Kirk going where no cop has gone before.

I really enjoyed it. It reminded me how gritty these US shows were, like the ones I watched as a kid, like Kojak, Canon and Ironside. Too many to name.

Those shows must have seemed incredibly urban and exotic to our UK parents at the time. Maybe even shocking. Full of massive cars, skyscrapers, dope, heroin, triads, pimps, hookers (not the TJ kind either!).

We're these shows really suitable for us kids?

Did they shock American audiences?

TJ came later I think. I didn't watch it. I guess I was older and doing other stuff. But I adored it's cop predecessors and Bill Shatner would have drawn me in. I loved Star Trek in the Sixties.

Surprisingly, for shows that really weren't for kids, like Kojak et al and our gritty British cop drama The Sweeney, there were indeed toys! Lots of 'em!

TJ Hooker too.

Here's his rack toy patrol car by Fleetwood ( I'm sure it's the same one as their CHiPS car!) as seen on the web.